****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Does a lot, and all the features seem to work pretty well, including phone connection. Very pleased with it despite the fairly high price. Seems quite sturdy and well made. Apparently it's the 55th anniversary edition which has some different sounds. This was not apparent on the packaging but was logically deduced.It arrived several days before I expected, and in pristine condition. The packaging was/is awesome, looks and feels high-tech but "USS ENTERPRISE COMMUNICATOR" wears a bit old. The charging stand snapped into place as per instructions, accepted my own micro-usb charging cable (the one that comes with it is a joke, haven't opened it yet but suspect about 6"?). The communicator glommed onto its magnetic cradle as advertised (actually, with rewarding tenacity: I carry the stand with the comm if I don't pry it loose when I pick it up) and I salivated for a while until I got the blue-green signal from the stand. Reading the instructions between charging and activating, I had a pretty clear idea about what I should do and what I should expect the response to be: and the only times IT got it wrong (hey, I'm telling this!) was when I wasn't reading the manual correctly! Once I figured out their chart, every instruction they gave made *almost* perfect sense. For instance, while you "CAN" voice-contact avatars of Spock, McCoy, Sulu and Scott when the Bluetooth connection is activated, and you can also play some sound effects like "subspace static" or "emergency signal from Starfleet Command" or somesuch, the only time you can get to Uhura is when the Bluetooth isn't connected ... this is irritating because I shouldn't have to ask any of these other officers to do her job and they give such "I'll get right on it!" and "Yes, sir!" answers, it's embarrassing to use the feature in public.So for the most part, I don't. Unless I'm showing the "toy" aspect to people: and it *IS* a GREAT TOY!*ON THE OTHER HAND!!!*If I surreptitiously dial a taxicab ahead of time on the cell phone this gadget is Bluetoothed to, and sometime later I'm standing in line to pay up at my favorite pub and I casually flip-phone this thing open, push a button or three asking McCoy or Scotty to put me in touch with a cab, and they say "Will do" or whatever, and it calls my cab, there are people within earshot that are COMPLETELY CONVINCED they're either drinking the right bheer or they've had too much.This is *FULL-UP AS ADVERTISED!!* It's a Bluetooth handset, how much you can do with it depends upon how much you train your Bluetooth. But first day out of the box, it's charged, it talks to my phone, it takes incoming calls and redials last number from the master phone, and the looks on the people around me when they hear that classic "beep-beep" Communicator "incoming call" and they smile because they recognize the sound and mistake it for a cell-phone ring-tone ... it may "accidentally" take me another ring-tone to "find" it, but when I pull it out and flip the antenna grid open with the unmistakable "well, it CHOIPS like a boid!" chirp and then proceed to carry on a conversation (flip the lid closed, it says "Communication terminated" ... AWESOME!) ... well, the looks on the faces of the people with earshot: let's just say they are amazed. It's a great way to meet people!This is NOT a toy. It's made of clearly high-quality materials, but its almost museum-quality devotion to detail and precision manufacturing make this so much more than a toy. And face it: calling for a cab from a bar with a standard-issue Starfleet Communicator ... "awesome" doesn't even *approach* describing how cool this thing is!!I got this for my friends birthday seeing as he is a big Star Trek fan. He absolutely loves it and said it was one of the best presents he has ever gotten. This thing has like a million features when paired with your phone. It is extremely realistic and every detail is perfect. It is definitely worth the money for how much work this company put into making it not only a perfect replica but a device that is actually rather technologically advanced.Great adult toy. Works as advertised, and appears very solid. Tons o' fun -- been waiting for this my whole life! The only complaint was that the stand would not snap together -- I had to bend the attachment tab outwards to make it hold in place. Took a bit of effort, and I was worried I'd break it.To address some obvious questions and comments from other reviews:Sound quality: If you're really concerned about this, you're missing the point. Still, it's fair. Good for voice, less good for music (they do point out it's not optimized for this. Some folks complain about the volume, I found it fine, though just by a bit. So much depends on the audio signal in -- the google voice assistant voice is perfectly audible. Weak or quiet cell signal/audio input may not be something that can be compensated for on this device.Buttons falling off: The buttons on mine seem firmly attached to their stems, but the stems wobble a bit, the only part I found anything less than rock solid about the communicator. Considering the 4-year square trade warranty on this is only $5 (as of today, at the $99 I picked up mine for), this is one of the rare situations I think the extended warranty is worth the spend. $5 guarantees your money back or a working communicator in your hands for nearly half a decade.Bluetooth delay. Yup. Bluetooth can be a bit of a dumpster fire in general, and this device is susceptible to the protocol's limitations like any other. Sometimes it seems perfectly synced, other times it seems to be about a half second behind. Lag is not uncommon, but so much is out of any peripheral's hands, with phone hardware and software, current phone processor load, signal interference, etc. all impacting the signal performance. Maybe the manufacturers could have done more, maybe they couldn't have. But there is lag at times. The more 'extras' I close on my phone (GPS, background processes, etc.), the more reliable it seems.The next logical evolution would be to introduce a companion app that allows some degree of customization, but it works perfectly well as-is.Edit: I had a problem with my communicator, but the wand company ABSOLUTELY stood behind their product. Won't get into details because every case is different, but they came through big time, improving on the resolution I suggested. Would give ten stars if I could.Stunning. I had one that broke inside a few months (for another retailer who refunded the purchase so I bought a new one here. And by 'broke' I mean refused to charge). But - that issue aside - it's a wonderful device that connects with my phone and - as I don't own an iphone (fortunately) - didn't need any sounds downloading or anything. It just worked. And I can answer calls from the ship... ok, phone calls from my better half - in what I fondly imagine is a heroic way.Great manufacturing quality (even after the failure I still think it's wonderful!): the weight, feel, functionality, lights, flip foil top-part, voices. All just great. And functions as a speaker. Sitting on it's magnetic charging stand. Nerdvana with knobs on.This is a well-made product. It looks authentic and feels robust . The magnetic stand/charger is a genius stroke. Everybody recognises the iconic object and when they find out that it not only "talks" (the pre-recorded phrases from the show), but it also functions as a bluetooth speaker, they are impressed. The most common response is "...cool...". If I had a quibble, it would be that the control are a little fiddly, in that there are a series of button pushes and flicks in sequence that are needed to change functions. Personally, I found that a bit of a hassle. However, that aside, I love it.This is a superb bit of kit, tremendously accurate to the hero prop for the original series with a stunning attention to detail. The build quality is incredible and the functionality beats expectation, paired with an Android phone in under 20 seconds and fully working in under a minute. This is quite simply one of those items that, if it evokes memories of youth and times past, you will buy as an item of memorabilia...however it is far more than that, it is a superb, quality product, with intelligent design and actual usable functionality.Although only tested for 48 hours so far (so no feedback on longevity) first impressions a true 95%+As a fan of Star Trek, from a very early age, I have wanted something like this for many years. I cannot believe how good the quality is, the Bluetooth has a good range and the unit has very good sound quality. The built in Voice samples are fantastic and actual sound clips of the original series. The build quality is excellent, although I wouldn't mind a belt loop on the included pouch.Awesome product. Not a toy but I love holding it and pretending a bit. Weight feels like what I think a real communicator might feel like. As I found the Bluetooth function simple, it is a real communicator to me. Just could not contact the Enterprise :-) However, others who saw me use it to call others on earth were impressed. I have The Wand Company's Phaser as well and they make a Great set. Just need them to make a cool Tricorder that has a real world application too.
