Nice Try, Came Up Short On Some Important Features
Written: Jul 17 '02 (Updated Jul 19 '02)
Product Rating:
Pros: Style, size, lack of antenna, handset speaker-phone
Cons: Battery drain, ring tones, menus, lack of headset jack, hard to use
The Bottom Line: None of the problems which I stated were large enough to deter from somebody from buying this phone, with the exception of the battery problems which I experienced.
My previous phone was a Panasonic Gigarange KX-TG2563S, a solid phone in its own right. That should give you an idea of where my expectations lay.
I was immediately drawn to this phone's styling, its small size, the lack of any antenna and the handset speaker-phone. I was also intrigued about the prospect of being able to use NiMH batteries in the phone. I had hoped that it would reduce any problems I'd previously had with NiCd batteries developing memory.
Straight out of the box, I used NiMH batteries which were recommended specifically for this phone. I charged them according to the manual (overnight) and everything worked great.
Some of the things I liked about the phone were:
The handset speaker-phone was a really cool feature, I was constantly worrying whether or not the other party could hear me clearly or if there was too much background noise, but everybody that I spoke to on it said that I sounded great to them. The other party always came across loud and clear, you just had to be careful not to muffle the speaker on the back of the handset. It also took a bit of getting used to the fact that having the speaker-phone on was like having another person sitting across from you, even if you weren’t talking directly at them or in a lower voice they could still hear you. Of course the phone did have an easy to access mute button for occasions such as this.
The size of the phone was perfect. It wasn’t too small; it could still rest comfortably between your ear and your shoulder. It had a nice shape to it as well; the curve of the phone made it comfortable to hold and the lack of an obtrusive antenna jutting out of the top made it very attractive.
The phone slid easily and securely into its base. There were two circular guides to assist in putting the phone correctly on the base and when you hung it up would beep to let you know it was charging. The base itself did not have any buttons which meant that all functions were accomplished through the handset’s menu system. A handy feature considering this is a multi-handset system.
Some of the things I did not like about the phone were:
The sounds the phone made were horrible. All of the sounds, such as ringing, menu confirmations, charging alert, etc. were all projected through the handset speaker-phone and had a fake unconvincing sound to it. It sounded like somebody turning on a microphone for a PA system, beeping over it and then turning off the microphone. The 20 different ringer selections had absolutely nothing that sounded like a regular phone ringing. They all had some sort of musical overtone to them. The sound the phone made when the battery was running low and needed recharging drowned out the conversation you were having with a 2 second beep that seemed much longer than it needed to be. It would have been more reasonable to have a subtle beep while not on the speaker-phone which would allow you to continue your conversation and charge the phone after you were done.
After about 7 days of regular use, the battery started acting up. A nights charge would only last through a few minutes of talking (This is no exaggeration). This was with a longer-lasting, supported NiMH battery which wasn't supposed to develop a memory. It just didn’t seem like it was charging them properly or else it wasn’t recognizing that they were charged still. Although when the phone was finished its charging the battery indicator was maxed out, telling me that it was fully charged.
The only way to change the volume during a call was through the menu system about 3 branches deep. This was not something you could do without looking at the handset, a very annoying feature.
In general, all the menu systems were not very well thought out. They did not seem very intuitive and frustrated on several occasions. It was very unclear how to access several features on the phone, the manual ended up being the only way to find them and it left you asking yourself 'Why would they put that there?'.
There is no easily accessible flash button to pick up call waiting, you have to hold down the mute button (bottom right corner, I believe that’s what the function was) for a time of about 2 seconds, a real skill that takes some time to get used to.
My overall impression of this phone is that it has some really nice features which if they were properly executed, would place it towards the top of its class. None of the problems which I stated were large enough to deter from somebody from buying this phone, with the exception of the battery problems which I experienced. Perhaps it was an isolated incident, but I just didn’t have the time or the patience to find out.
Refurbished * 2.4GHz Extra Handset * Single Line Operation * Talking Caller ID / Call Waiting * Full Duplex Handset SpeakerPhone * Voice-Activated Dia...More at 101phones.com
Refurbished * 2.4GHz Extra Handset / Charger * Single Line Operation * Talking Caller ID / Call Waiting * Full Duplex Handset SpeakerPhone * Voice-Act...More at 101phones.com
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.