People Thought I Got a New Cell Phone...
Written: May 08 '01 (Updated Jun 22 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Stylish design, mobile speakerphone, digital answering machine, caller id, 2.4Ghz, built in phonebook, lighted keypad
Cons: Limited ring options, no volume control for rings, answer machine system has it's faults
The Bottom Line: Many innovative & unique features, but a bit pricey. Good range and excellent clairity. Small and cell phone like design make it very portable.
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| Westsider03's Full Review: Panasonic KX TG2670 2.4 GHz 1-Line Cordless Phone |
-Update: 06/22/01 -
Well, now that I've had more time to use this thing and get to know it's quirks, let me make a few additions to things I think you should know.
There are specific design flaws in the answering machine system. First of all, you can only erase messages from the base. Which means if you are using the remotely listening to the messages, you cannot delete any messages. This may not be a big deal, but there are more quirks with the deleting system. On the base, when you hit the erase button, you are given the final warning that you are about the delete all your messages. Basically, you cannot selectively save some messages over others. You can either delete all your messages, or leave them all. I found this to be a nuisance, but not a major flaw.
I still think this is the best purchase I have made in years. I have not yet been dissapointed in it's performance, and still recommend it to anyone. Funny thing is, a few days ago, my dad picked up my phone from the table, thinking it was his cell phone. This phone really does look like a cell phone. I wouldn't mind a cell phone that looked like it either.
-End of Update-
This phone is definately a sporty phone. It is has a great sense of style and wonderful design. Its features are somewhat average with what most other phones in this price range offer. A good feature is the phone itself. It resembles a good size cell phone. My parents had first mistaken it was a new cell phone when they first saw it. The answering machine system is fine, but has some problems that I'll address. Let's get down to the details of the good stuff about this phone.
Design
The base has a feature I consider very innovative. The base has the ability to be mounted on a wall or be placed on the desk. Sure, most phones offer this, but I have not see it so common in cordless phones that sit in the base this way. As you can see from the picture, the phone sits in the base in such a way that the phone should only be put on the desktop. You really have to go look at this phone in person to truly grasp the concept, but I will try my best to explain the great thing it actually does. The groove on the base in which the phone sits actually can be rotated so that the phone can be mounted on the wall. It's a really nice feature. I haven't been able to find a picture of it, but just go check it out at your local electronics store.
The base has large buttons on the keypad, which I find very nice. The buttons on the base are not lighted however. Not a big fuss, but it would have been nice. The digital answering machine I enjoy because you never have to rewind and buy tapes, it is stored on digital memory. The specs show that it has a total of 15 minutes of recording time. The speakerphone on the base works just as good as any other speakerphone I've used in the past, maybe slightly better than older model phones.
The portable phone is a very nice size and feels very comfortable in my hand. The keypad is lighted as well as the display, and I find this to be a very helpful feature. All the buttons seem very well placed and just well built. Both the base and portable phone has jacks for headsets. The portable boasts an interesting feature, which is it also has a built in speakerphone. I have used this option and it is nice and works considerably well, but I don't find it as effective as the base speakerphone. Still a nice feature if you need to put the phone down for a few minutes to get something from a cabinet or what have you.
Answering Machine
The answering machine is extremely easy to use. I find it to be fairly good with the exception of a few things I think is not exactly smart design. From the base you can play all new message by hitting the play button, but to listen to old messages, you have to use the portable. Yes, this has remote operation for the answering machine, so you can check message from the portable.
Another feature I find to be excellent is that you can also check your message from any where as well. If you are on the road, you can call your own phone, enter a code you set, and check your message similar to a voicemail. You can have the base page you every time someone leaves you a message. I don't have a pager, so I just have the unit call my cell phone, and since I know I'm not home to call myself, I know there is a message waiting for me. It's great. Other than a few things that could be better, the answering machine system is good stuff.
Caller ID Features
Now I don't have caller id as a part of my phone service, so I cannot speak from experience, but from my reading, I've learned that the caller id features on this phone are more than just telling you who is calling. You can set the phone to ring differently for different people you have set in a group. For instance, if you have you're spouse's cell phone number stored and set in a special group, the phone will ring different and flash a different color to indicate that someone from that group is calling. This can come in handy and make it easy for you to screen calls with the blink of an eye. Some higher models of this phone have this feature and are even more customizable, so you may want to check it out if this interests you.
Menu System
The menu system is only slightly tricky. What I mean by this is that you probably won't just figure out how to use the menu system to setup your options out of the box. You will probably have to reference the manual a few times, but after that it should be a piece of cake. There aren't a whole lot of things to customize in the menu, which is good and bad I suppose. Good because there aren’t endless amounts of features for you to setup, it's fairly quick and to the point. Bad if you enjoy fully customizing you phone. There are no other ring options that I've been able to find other than tone and pulse. The volume of the ring can be adjusted on both the base and handset. Both are limited to two volumes, those being high and low. Not much choice there.
What's the Range and Clarity on This Thing?
I have tested this phone and it basically the same clarity all around until you get out of range. Basically as long as you are in range, the clarity is fine, and maybe within a few feet of being out of range, there is complete silence. The signal doesn't fade and disappear gradually; it just stops at the limit. I have been as far as one neighborhood block away and used this phone as I was driving just to test the range. I find the range to be more than enough for anywhere in the house, unless you live in a considerably large house (meaning a house larger than a neighborhood block) I wouldn't worry.
Other General Features
This phone has all the standard features you are used to seeing in a cordless phone system. It has a locator or "paging" button to find the phone when you've misplaced it. You can also use the two-way intercom system to talk between the portable handset and base. There are no mute buttons. I find that to be a worthy flaw that I over looked when I bought this phone. In either case, it is always recommended to check out the phone yourself.
The Bottom Line
This phone is a great phone, and you can find it much less than the listed price on must auction sites. Unless you can find it for a bit less than $200, I'm sure you can find some better phones for anymore than that. I got a great deal and paid $175 dollars for this phone. That’s the retail price of the lower model of this series, that didn't include the answering machine. The dual speakerphones, and digital answering machine are great. The remote answering system is also an excellent feature. It has good range and superb clarity. Basically it’s a phone with many great and innovative features that make it a great buy, but I probably wouldn't have bought if for more than $200 dollars. Anymore than that, I would have probably looked around a little while longer and did some more serious comparing. I hope this review helps in your comparisons.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Westsider03
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Member: Anh Nguyen
Location: Orange County, CA
Reviews written: 32
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
I write my reviews to help others make decisions.
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