Great caller id phone system for families or roommates
Written: Feb 01 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Panasonic brand, many features, hi-tech look, intercom, 3 mail box answering system, caller list
Cons: NiCad battery, recording music on answering machine message, price($199)
The Bottom Line: I think this is a great top of the line system, especially for a family upgrading to caller id and cordless phones with a digital answering machine.
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| dave4ster's Full Review: Panasonic KX-TG5110 5.8 GHz Twin 1-Line Cordless P... |
As far as I know, this phone system has it all. I have never owned a cordless phone before or had caller id, so I got this phone system($199) an a third handset($69) for Christmas. With my set up I basically have 4 phones in the house, 1 base unit and 3 handsets.
I found this system very easy to set up and learn/use its features. The phone is well lit, and has a nice lcd display. The 3 mailbox digital answering machine and caller id missed caller list on each lcd screen works out great for everyone in your house. You can always check on your handset who called when you were out of the house with the caller list of calls and call them back by just pressing a button. The caller id shows both the name and number, and for the caller list it shows date and time too. I have seen many phones with caller id that just show either the name or number, not both at the same time. This type of caller id info works out great as it lets everyone in your house know who should answer the phone on certain calls. The answering machine comes with a prerecorded message if you don't want to record your own and set up the 3 mailboxes. I tried to record my own with background music, and it didn't sound clear, so I had to record without the music.
Some other features that work well are the phone book, speaker phone, intercom, and privacy option. Your phone book can be easily transferred from the base unit to all handsets, but it doesn't help caller id identify wireless calls or unavailable out of area numbers that are in your phone book. I am not sure if other systems do or not. The speaker phone is loud and clear enough for me, and is great for calls that require you to go through a menu of options before speaking to a actual person. The intercom makes it easy to talk to people in other rooms of the house, or connect incoming calls to them. Once you answer a call, you can press the privacy button so no one else can listen in to your conversation from another handset. You can also keep track of the length of your calls as it tracks the time for you on the screen.
I have read other reviews that say this phone isn't loud enough, but I think that has to do with the position of the phone on your ear. Unlike a corded phone that has a larger semi-rounded ear piece area that cups your ear, this phone like most cordless phones is flat and smaller at the ear piece. If you are using the phone while watching tv or listening to music you have to work a little harder at first keeping the ear piece area lined up with the center of your ear. There is a booster button you can press to help your hear better, but it eats up your battery time faster too. I haven't had a chance to use the phone too much outside of my house this winter, so I don't know how well it will work distance wise, but I didn't buy it for that purpose. The battery does stink, but I knew this before I bought the system. I don't mind charging the handsets over night when needed, which usually is every 2-4 days depending on use. Many people I know keep their cordless phones in the charger when not in use at night anyway, so I don't know how much it shortens the battery life. If the batteries go dead from this, I will upgrade to the NiMH batteries that have been mentioned in other reviews.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
dave4ster
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Location: NJ
Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Fan of Shaq/HEAT, Tiger Woods, Phil. Eagles. Love driving my Jeep Liberty. Red Sox Rule!
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