(Update) Panasonic makes another winner (Almost)
Written: Jun 10 '03 (Updated Nov 02 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Nice, quality design and construction - good sound quality - features
Cons: Weak, Ni-Cad battery pack (see review)
The Bottom Line: If you use your cordless a lot, and need extended standby time, look for a unit with a high capacity NiMH battery pack.
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| Ahab1973's Full Review: Panasonic KX TG2215B Cordless Phone (KX-TG2215B) |
(UPDATE Nov 1 2003) Unfortunately, after several months of use, the battery issues that I outlined in the original version of this review just got to be too much of a headache. Obviously, anyone who buys a cordless phone is generally interested in convenience. A phone with a dead battery at the worst possible moment is no convenience at all. I'm not sure if I just got a bad unit or what but the problems with the battery dying much faster than expected seemed to get much worse after a couple of months. I finally just gave up on the thing, unplugged it and have been using my old corded phone ever since.
My final recommendation, if you're in the market for a cordless phone and you like the looks and features of the Panasonic line, is to look for a model with a NiMH battery pack. I was shopping around the other day and it seems as if Panasonic has learned their lesson, as most of the newer Panasonic units I looked at had the much better NiMH batteries. Be warned, however, that it's usually not easy to find out which type of battery pack a given phone uses. Often, you'll have to open the box of a new unit and look at the battery that's inside.
Original review
You might notice, if you take a look at my history of reviews, that I'm an electronics junkie. However, when it comes to phones, I just have a hard time getting really excited about them. Where I'll tear eagerly into the box of a new DVD player or digital camera, I just see a phone as a communication device. I don't spend a lot of time on the phone but when I do require one, I want the sound quality to be decent, the ergonomics of the handset to be good, so it's comfortable to hold if I talk for an extended period of time and to a certain degree, I want it to look nice sitting on my desk.
I shopped around for a while when I went to buy a new cordless phone. I had used a few 900MHz models in the past and wasn't particularly thrilled with them as I don't like getting static when I'm 15 feet from the base. Being someone who doesn't know a whole lot about the technology employed in the communications between the handset and the base, I assumed a 2.4GHz would be better and a digital link would be better still. I can't say that I've really noticed a whole lot of difference, other than the fact that I don't get static with this phone unless I take it about 40 feet outside. I live on the second floor of an apartment building so that's pretty good range and is more than I'll probably ever need.
A brief overview of the key features
*2.4 GHz operating range with digital technology
*Caller ID with backlit 3-line display
*Navigator Key
*Ability to store up to 50 names and numbers in the
directory
The Panasonic KX-TG2215B is black (The B in the number stands for "Black"), sleek and it looks and feels solid, unlike some of the other cheap feeling cordless units I looked at. I saw a lot of phones that looked and felt nicer but I just can't justify spending up to $200 on a phone, especially considering that I might only use it a few times a week.
The most distinguishable feature of this Panasonic model is the large, silver navigator key located centrally between the "talk" and "off" buttons just below the LCD display. This key is the button that you'll use the most whilst navigating through the menu system or browsing through the numbers on the Caller ID or in your directory (A list of names and numbers the phone will store for you for quick access). The key is easy and intuitive to use. No guesswork here. It took me a matter of minutes to figure out how to set everything up. The instruction manual is clear and concise and didn't leave me scratching my head. I didn't have any issues with the menu system or with the navigation of it. Everything works as well as I expect it to. Unless you're really picky about your phones or you really like to store a lot of names and numbers in the memory, you'll probably be happy with this Panasonic.
What I like Both the handset and the base are nicely designed and feel like they're made to last. The parts all fit together tightly without the unsightly gaps that usually indicate poor quality electronics. The buttons are all nicely laid out and the keypad isn't so small that you actually press three or four buttons when you only meant to press one. This is a problem that's common to almost every wireless mobile phone I've seen, and since cordless manufacturers are bound to start trying to make cordless phones for the home look more like wireless mobile ones sooner or later, this is a good thing.
The backlit LCD display for the Caller ID displays numbers and text very well, with excellent contrast. This was a problem with my old cordless (A GE branded phone, can't remember the model). I found the display on the GE almost impossible to read unless I held it at a very odd angle. The light on this Panasonic display has a greenish tint so it's easy on the eyes and the text shows up nice and clear from almost any angle.
The handset for this cordless has a speakerphone built into it. This was a pretty strong selling point for this phone when I bought it because sometimes I do like to talk to friends or relatives whilst surfing the net or something. I've found that it doesn't work quite as well as I'd hoped, though. The speaker for the speakerphone is located on the back side of the handset but it uses the microphone on the front to pick up your voice as you're talking. The best way to go about using the speakerphone is to sit the handset vertically on a flat surface (thankfully, the bottom is flat and the phone isn't top heavy so it sits up easily) and aim the mic toward your position. Unfortunately, the voice of the person who is talking to you is coming from the speaker on the back and the sound goes the wrong way. Yeah, you can still hear them but it's not as clear as it could be if you could turn it around. I don't think it would have been very difficult for Panasonic to integrate an additional mic somewhere on the same side of the handset as the speaker.
Additionally, I've also found that the people I'm talking to on the speakerphone can't hear me very well, even when I'm only a couple of feet from the mic. Aside from those issues, I guess it's still nice to have a speakerphone and it's still a valuable and useful feature.
I also like the selectable ringtones. There are six patterns to choose from. This may seem like a minor feature or kind of gimmicky but I like it because I often find the standard ringtones on many phones (both corded and cordless) to be rather annoying. At least I have a choice.
What bothers me? First and foremost, the battery for this unit, like so many other cordless phones of the past is the older Ni-cad battery pack. These batteries require more caution when charging than the newer NiMH rechargeables. The Ni-Cad batteries should be fully discharged before recharging, while the NiMH batteries can be recharged or topped off at any time. Topping off Ni-Cad batteries frequently will often significantly shorten their useful lifespan. The batteries in this unit also don't seem to last very long on a single charge. I've found the typical standby time to be somewhere in the range of about 4 days, where my old cordless (which was powered by NiMH batteries) could go for over a week without a recharge.
Obviously, I like to leave the handset off the base in order to get the battery pack as close to fully discharged as possible before recharging it. The problem is that even watching the battery meter on the display isn't all that helpful. I never know when the power level is going to drop below the level required to power the phone. Once that happens, it won't even power up for even a few seconds. The display goes blank and you have to charge battery a full 15 HOURS before it's ready to use again. Why manufacturers continue to use Ni-cad batteries in modern electronics, with all of their disadvantages is absolutely beyond me. Newer rechargeables, with improved quick chargers are readily available and aren't all that expensive. Panasonic gets serious demerits for powering an otherwise fine phone with a crappy, plain old Ni-Cad battery pack. For the price of this unit, I feel that they could have easily used a NiMH battery pack with a shorter recharge time as well. In general, I trust Panasonic. Their products are usually second to none in terms of value, quality and reliability. I'm not sure if Panasonic uses the same battery pack in all of their lower end cordless phones or not but it's something to watch out for.
Believe it or not, the battery issue is really the only major thing that keeps me from giving this Panasonic my highest recommendation for those looking for a good cordless on a modest budget. I do wish it had a backlit keypad as well as the nice backlit LCD and if I could do it over, I'd have spent more for a unit with that feature.
Overall, I'm fairly pleased with this phone and it works for my needs. My only major gripe is the battery. I'm going to give it an above average rating for it's quality and it's features but I can't recommend it because I know phones with the same features, with better battery technology exist for about the same price or possibly a little more.
*I paid - $59.95 for this cordless phone
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
Ahab1973
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Member: Brian
Location: USA
Reviews written: 132
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