Panasonic KXTC1743 Digital Cordless Phone and Answering Machine With Caller ID
Written: Apr 08 '02 (Updated Jul 12 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Durable construction, reliable, easy to use, sound quality, range, features, good LCD
Cons: Ni-Cad battery, no cue/review, need to press "stop" or wait after message listening ...
The Bottom Line: The 1743 is a very good phone and has all the features I need (and some I don’t). It has its small annoyances, but, overall...
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| dkozin's Full Review: Panasonic KX TC1743 900 MHz - Cordless Phone |
The Panasonic KX-TC1743 is a digital 900MHz cordless phone and answering machine with call waiting caller ID and digital duplex speakerphone. There are two colors available – black (1743B) and white (1743W).
The first thing I noticed is the fact that the phone is much easier to use than previous generations of Panasonic phones, because it uses a large “Navigator” button, which resembles a joystick.
This button allows you navigate the phone’s menu structure instead of digging out the manual every time you have to do something. The menu choices appear on the handset’s LCD (it is backlit).
Digital Answerer
The phone uses a digital answerer that stores your messages in memory. The sound quality is quite good, however there is an omission: on the older Panasonic phone I used to have, I could cue/review messages. This model allows you skip to the previous or the next message, but you cannot “fast forward” or “rewind” (and I usually want to do this, e.g. if I didn’t catch the phone number of the person who called).
Another small annoyance is the fact that to go through the list of callers on the handset’s LCD (if you have caller ID service) after you finished listening to your messages, you have to either wait for several seconds or press “stop”, even though the last message has played already.
But there are downright cool features, some of them not even mentioned in the manual. I recently found out that if you leave the handset on the base, facing up, you can see the phone number and the name of the person who left you a message while the answerer is playing the message.
Call Waiting Caller ID And Battery
The caller ID LCD screen is backlit and is located on the handset. In addition to phone numbers and names (where available and with caller ID service ordered from your phone company), it also shows the battery status, which is much more convenient than my old VTech phone that would just die without any prior warning. However, the battery is Ni-Cad and should (preferably) be fully discharged and then fully charged every time to increase the battery life.
You can see the phone number and the name after the first ring when somebody calls (but not always). If you are on the phone and somebody calls, you can also see their information and decide if you should switch to the second line. Also, if people called you and you didn’t pick up the phone, you can review all callers’ numbers and names by pressing “Navigator” key up and/or down and you can instantly save the numbers in the phone’s memory if you want.
Sound Quality
The sound quality is very good - the phone uses digital transmission, which is more secure and eliminates static noise. But if you get too far from the base (in my case it’s about 200 feet), instead of static you will experience breakups in conversation. The volume can be adjusted (3 settings) using the Navigator button.
Features
Yesterday I found out that the phone knows when and how to adjust its clock to the daylight savings time – it adjusted its clock one hour forward. The phone has keypads on both handset and the base with base featuring intercom.
The battery charging is reversible – the handset can be placed on the base either face up or face down for recharging (I prefer “face up” position, because this way you can see who is calling without picking up the phone, plus you can see the name/phone number when you listen to the messages).
Update 05/03/2002
The battery suddenly died and refused to charge - replaced it with a new one. Although I didn't like that, this is probably not the phone's fault.
Bottom Line
The 1743 is a very good phone and has all the features I need (and some I don’t). It has its small annoyances, but, overall, it is one of the best phones I have seen.
See my review of the new Panasonic KX-TG2226SV 2.4GHz GigaRange Cordless Phone with Digital Answering Machine and Caller ID here
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
dkozin
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 in Electronics |
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Location: California
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About Me:
I love to push buttons on electronic (audio and video) equipment. It makes me happy.
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