I bought several of these talking phones, one as a gift. You need batteries , 3 AAA for light on the phone to work. It has the date and time on the screen along with a calendar and the caller's phone number. It has talking caller ID, 16 ring tones,a calculator , music on hold, alarm clock and speaker phone. You can also have the phone tilted up or laying flat. I like that I can hear the phone number said so I don't have to walk to the phone and see who it is . After a while it can be hard to read the numbers on the screen . one of the phones has the cord made in a way that you can't remove and replace it. I bought mine in the drug store for $14.95 I have seen them online for $60.