This is without question, the best land line phone I have ever seen! Please look at my other reviews, you will see that I am NOT a paid reviewer to write what the manufacturer wants.This phone does EVERYTHING! Sound is crystal clear. Both handsets and base unit have lit displays. Both have selectable ringer tones and volume. Each has independent "phone books" which can be copied from the base unit to the handsets or vice versa. Both the base unit and handsets have speaker phones. The phone books are super easy to program.
The answering system with date/day/time works terrifically! You can select pre-recorded message or make your own. The answering system capacity is 18 minutes or 64 messages. You can select between 2 and 7 rings before the answering system engages.
I like that the base unit works during power outages.
I especially like the five "speed dial" buttons to phone frequent friends or family with just one button. Great!
Call blocking works well.
Cordless handsets have great range and use rechargeable AAA batteries (included). The handset cradle recharges the batteries. The cordless handsets light up (back-lit). You can access the answering machine via the cordless handsets. The cordless handsets have speaker phones and headset jack. They have a clip so you can wear it on your belt.
It has a "handset locator".
It supports English and Espahol. Instruction manual is well written and easy to use.
It even has an "alarm clock" feature.
I have not found a better land line phone! Strongly recommend!
Pros
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* It has a good sound, so far I have not had the issues I had with my old phone. I have tried both the handset and the speakerphone, and like both. I particularly like the fact that I can put it on speaker, dial the number, and pick up the phone if I need to, or use the speaker phone. I also like that it's possible to switch between handset and speaker phone. Nice touch!
* The buttons/keys are nice. Easy to see without being too large. There are 5 options for speed dial, which made my life very easy! Some buttons (soft buttons) change depending on what you are doing with the phone at the time (on call or not, for example)
* Menus that are easy to understand. The handset is a little bit trickier than the desk phone, but in essence you can do what you want on that too.
* Once a number is programmed into the phone, it can be sent from handset to desk phone and vice versa. I only have one handset (will buy a second one soon), but I understand from the descriptions that you cannot send between handsets. But both can send to desk phone, and from there can be sent to hand sets. You can send all, or individual numbers.
* Large display. It's quite easy to read. I do have some issues with the display, see cons.
Cons
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* Display. While I generally like the display, I wish it had been raised a bit, or that the phone had a greater angle. I have to either get off my chair or lift my phone in order to see the menus. Once a button is pushed, it's easy enough to see due to the back light, but it annoys me that I have to stretch my neck to see. It's a minor thing, but still.
* Answering Machine. When I got the phone, one of the first things I did, was to try to configure the answering machine. But that cannot be done on the desk phone, it has to be done by the hand set. Since that should be charged for 7 hours before use, this is a bit inconvenient. I thought this could have been done on the phone as well. The man telling me how many messages I've missed has a very metallic voice, clearly computer generated. It's annoying, but nothing major.
* Phone bigger under the handset. This I didn't realise looking at the picture, but the phone is not square. It is a good portion larger where the receiver is compared to the rest of the phone. That means that raising the phone at a larger angle may be an issue (see display above). One really needs a "cradle" to put the phone into.
* Metallic voice/feedback in my headset. I am not sure it's the phone or the combination, but my headset (Plantronic) is in the $250-range, and this phone is no where near as expensive, which leads me to think it's the phone. Especially since the headset has been used before without this issue. But it's something only I hear, not the one I am talking with, and it's not all the time either. It could be because it gets dual feedback, my headset pick it up, and so does the receiver (it has to be lifted off the hook).
But I like this phone, and I am likely to have it for a long time to come. It does the job much better than my previous phone, and the fact that I can use my headset is a serious bonus. I would definitely recommend it for anyone in need of a phone.
Edit: I just got another handset for this phone. Pairing the handset with the phone was a cinch, there is even a button for it. Then I just pressed the menu buttons and sent my entire phone list to the new phone. I also discovered yesterday that I can even listen in on the message on the handset when someone calls and I let it go to answering machine. I really like the features of this phone.I was torn whether to rate this 4 or 5 stars. For my simple needs, it's definitely a 5, but it does have some quirks.
Good:
Great sound quality. Corded base for power outages. Speakerphone (which works great) on all components, both base and handsets. Access to answering system messages from all components. Functions as an intercom (and very well, too). 100-number phone book, which can be copied between units either in total or one entry at a time, and nine phone number groups that you can give custom names. Five-number quick dial buttons on base. Large, easy-to-use buttons. Uses rechargeable AA's (I *think* might have been AAA's standard batteries, anyway) instead of the expensive proprietary kind. Supports up to six handsets.
Not so good:
Some menus confusing. Direct-access to functions using "#" and a numeric code a joke, to me I want to navigate to a function using an intuitive menu, not look up a code in the user manual. On base unit, LCD contrast is not high enough to read display without backlight (at least in the location we've got it). Does not have a memo function as our previous (but much lower quality) system did, so I'm in the market for a fridge magnet recorder thingie now which is just fine by my husband, as he hated my leaving messages to myself on the answering machine....! ;-> ) Cannot copy phone number groups between units if you use that function, you'd have to name the groups on each unit and put each phone number in a group individually.
The reason I gave it a "5" nevertheless is that the "not so good" things I listed mean virtually nothing to me for my simple needs, especially when bounced against the "good" things, which *do* mean a lot to me. Your mileage may vary, which is why I tried to list everything I've noticed about the unit so far.I've owned this phone for just over a week and there are several things I like about it.
1. The handsets use two AAA batteries, instead of the specialized battery components common with digital phones. As my experience with my last phone, an AT&T model, left me without the ability to replace the battery, this one thing significantly affected my view.
2. Once you get the knack of the memory storage function that part of it is really quite simple to use, and much of the functions of the phone then become fairly intuitive.
3. The phone is operational when electrical power is out, which is a moderately common problem where I live due to thunderstorms.
There is one thing I don't like about this phone, but it is a small complaint: the voice control only raises the volume to a certain level and leaves me unable to hear at the level of volume that I'd prefer. However, this is a small complaint for the simple fact that if I pay close attention, which I should do anyway, I manage to understand all that is being said over the line.
The phone comes with a nice and unique ringer that can be heard from quite a distance. The handset use is very simple and easy to understand, requiring no reading of instructions to actually begin use.
Setting the timing of the automatic answering recorder is fairly simple as well. I've got mine set to record at six rings.
While I'm still learning about my new phone I must say that I am more than well pleased with it. It's far superior to the last phone I owned simply because of the type of batteries used. I appreciate Panasonic for actually considering the requirements of the user when they designed this phone.
I recommend it. This phone is very nice for the price and is as good, or better, than any other phone at this price level.This is the best-designed cordless I've ever owned, but it has a couple of problems.
Pros:
Well-designed user interface and documentation; easy setup
Standard rechargeable AAA batteries
Excellent voice quality through corded handset
Editable Caller ID numbers (you can remove the area code for returning local numbers)
Complete set of standard phone features (mute, hold, voice mail support, etc.)
Corded handset works during a power outage.
Set ringer off during recurring hours (like at night)
Cons:
Poor range. Cuts out when you're walking around. Hardly any signal if you're on the other side of the house. It has about half the range of my old 900 MHz phone from the same location.
Base speakerphone does not work during a power outage. If you're on speaker when the power goes out, it drops the call. I use the speaker a lot in my home-based business, and power outages are common during the summer thunderstorm season, so this is a major issue for me.
Update based on comments:
Yes, you can use a UPS for uninterrupted power. But my UPS was maxed out, which is why I bought a phone advertised as working during a power outage. If such a claim is made, then the corded handset should have: a) included an internal battery; or b) used the phone line to power the speaker, as one of my older phones does.
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