Ever since the breakup of Ma Bell, shopping for phones has been an adventure in patience. I sometimes long for the days when the phone company supplied your phone and it just plain worked, with high quality sound, and it lasted forever. They weren't always stylish, and they lacked cool features, but they were dependable.

Since the 1984 breakup, I've bought countless phones and answering machines, corded and cordless, with and without speakerphones, caller id, you name it. I've given up on AT&T for good after a few poor quality experiences. And those cheap phones at Radio Shack? You get what you pay for.

My latest attempt at buying a decent phone is the Panasonic KX-TG4250M. I had three basic requirements: a cordless phone that wouldn't interfere with my 802.11g WiFi network; at least 2 additional handsets that could be plugged in anywhere; and speakerphone capability on the handsets. This Panasonic model met all those criteria, plus more.

Expandability

I bought the KX-TG4250M base unit and two additional KX-TGA520M handsets for a total of three handsets. The base unit can accept four handsets, so it easily meets my expansion criteria.

Setup and Use

Setup is easy. Just plug in the base unit, insert the battery in the handset, and let it charge for six hours (oh the agony having to wait 6 hours to play with my new toy). You need to set the date and time, and browse through the menus to see if you want to change any of the default options.

After charging the expansion handsets you must register them with the base. This is a security feature to prevent someone from driving by with a handset and making calls on your dime. The registration process takes a few seconds and is automatic - just press and hold a button on the base unit, then press a button on the handset.

Basic operation is intuitive. It's a phone and it works like one. I like being able to dial a number before pressing TALK, which lets me see if I've dialed it correctly before actually placing the call. I have another phone that does this, so maybe it's becoming a standard feature.

When a handset is in use, it lights up like a Christmas tree (if Christmas trees were orange). However it only lights up the display and the number keypad. Other keys such as TALK, OFF, and HOLD are not lit up, so if you're in a dark room you have to remember where those keys are.

Answering Machine

The base unit contains a full-featured answering machine with three mailboxes. I didn't really need a new answering machine, but I liked the other features of this phone, and it just happened to include an answering machine. I only use one mailbox, but I can see how multiple mailboxes would be useful for roommate and family situations. Instruct callers to press # and 1 for me, # and 2 for her, or # and 3 for the rug rats and you're all set. If the caller doesn't enter anything the message goes to mailbox number 1.

Message capacity is 16 minutes, or 8 minutes in Enhanced Recording mode. Back when answering machines used tapes, voice quality never seemed to be an issue. The first digital I bought also had great voice quality. Then something happened. Manufactures started getting stingy on memory capacity so they started using compression algorithms to squeeze more time into less memory. The result ws grbld messgs yu cld hrdly undrstd. I returned one AT&T answering machine because I literally couldn't understand recorded messages. I replaced it with a standalone Panasonic unit that, while better than the AT&T, was still not as clear as the good old days.

So what was that diversion about? I set my new Panasonic to Enhanced Recording mode. What a delight - recorded messages are crystal clear. No more guessing whether she said 5 or 9. It cuts message capacity in half, but I don't think I've ever had more than 4 minutes in messages, so 8 minutes is plenty for me. I haven't listened to messages in regular mode so I don't know how good it is. I'm guessing it's about the same as the old standalone Panasonic it replaced.

Incoming messages are limited to one, two, or three minutes. That seems like an unnecessary restriction, but if it cuts off a long-winded caller, maybe that's ok. I set mine for three even though I rarely get messages longer than 30 seconds or so.

Speakerphones! Speakerphones!

Each handset has a speakerphone, and so does the base unit. The handset speakerphones are fairly low volume so you can't hear it well from across the room, but it's great when you're sitting at your computer and have the handset sitting next to the keyboard. That's exactly what I wanted for the times I work from home.

The base unit speakerphone works even if the handset is elsewhere. The base unit has a full dial pad, so you can listen to messages and return calls even if you've misplaced the handset. You can also listen to messages from any of the handsets in case you've misplaced the base unit. :-)

What about WiFi?

I've got an 802.11g WiFi wireless network at home. With a laptop and VPN, that means my boss expects me to work 24 hours a day. WiFi operates at 2.4 GHz, the same as many cordless phones, which means the phones and the network can interfere with each other. Newer and more expensive phones, such as this Panasonic, operate at 5.8 GHz, meaning no interference with computer networks. However, you have to read the fine print. Some so-called 5.8 GHz phones transmit at 5.8 GHz downstream and 2.4 GHz upstream. I have no idea why they do that, but they can still interfere with WiFi. The Panasonic is 5.8 GHz in both directions, so there's no chance to interfere.

Does it work? It seems so. I've used the phone and laptop at the same time and haven't noticed any computer network problems or phone audio glitches.

Hisssssssss!

Cordless phones have a reputation for buzzing and hissing. So far I've heard nary a buzz, but there is a hiss. The hiss is very low level, almost inaudible, and only when someone is talking. If nobody is talking the phone is completely silent. It's quieter than other cordless phones I've used (900 MHz and whatever the earlier standard was). It's also way better than a corded AT&T phone I threw out - it had a fairly loud constant hiss that made it difficult for me to understand callers and vice versa. With the new Panasonic nobody has ever complained about hissing or that my voice sounds "distant".

On a couple of occasions I've heard an echo in the handset. It's enough to be slightly distracting, but it's extremely rare. I think I've heard it three times in the 6 weeks I've had the phone, and it only lasts for about 10 seconds, so it's no big deal. Perhaps this echo replaces the occasional buzzing on other cordless phones.

Other Coolness

Talking Caller ID gets my nomination for best feature in a supporting role. After the second ring, the caller ID name is spoken between rings from all the speakerphones in the house simultaneously. My poor cats go bonkers trying to figure out where all those people are. If I'm not near a phone to see the caller ID display, I know not to get up if I hear "Call from Toll Free" or "Call from (your local phone company)". Don't you hate it that even with your number on the Do Not Call list your local phone company still calls every week trying to sell you more services?

The platinum and charcoal gray color scheme is very stylish. Size and weight of the handsets are just right for me - not so heavy as to be fatiguing, and not as tiny as my cell phone which feels like a toy.

You can easily scroll through the caller ID history and place a call back. You can program names and numbers into a phone book, but each handset maintains its own phone book. That's ok if each person in the house has their own handset, but I would prefer them all to share the phone book. Fortunately the phone book can be copied from one handset to another, but it takes a bit of menu navigation, and you have to copy to each handset separately. You can copy the entire phone book or individual entries.

The phone has a number of features I don't use. The handsets can be used as intercoms. The handsets can be paged from the base unit to locate a lost handset. You can place a call in privacy mode so nobody can listen from another handset.

There's a feature called Voice Enhancer that, according to the manual, "clarifies the voice of the person you are talking to, reproducing a more natural-sounding voice that is easier to hear and understand." I've had no problem understanding callers, so I've never tried this feature

You have a choice of ring tones and melodies to choose from. The selection is small and they're mostly obnoxious, so I stayed with the traditional phone ringing sound. Panasonic has downloadable ring tones if you're willing to pay for them. I'm not, so I don't know what kind of selection they have.

Bottom Line

After six weeks I'm still delighted with this phone. I now have a phone next to my easy chair, another one where I usually have my laptop, no interference with my WiFi network, an answering machine with crystal clear messages, and talking caller ID to spook the cats. That's pretty close to perfection in my book.


Recommended: Yes