Rating: 
Summary: Replaced my Siemens
Review: Another handset on my Siemens died (the original 2-line expandable with answering machine). I had had enough. Here's my initial impression of the Panasonic compared to the Siemens: 1) I have not had problems with the battery. In fact, the battery life is much better than with Siemens, even when I replaced all the original rechargables. Now there was a handset that would drive you crazy. Because they are NiCDs, the Panasonic batteries do have to be conditioned properly. You really do have to let them charge for 15 hrs, though this can be very inconvenient to do. 2) As for the other features of the handset, I think these handsets are much better than Siemens. The Siemens win with cool factor and size, but have much worse key feel and are poorly integrated with answering machine functions. Also, the reliability was absolutely horrendous. I went through 4 different ones and the 4 that survived were flaky. Futhermore, the Panasonic's speaker phone on each handset is a great feature. 3) I think they unecessarily limited the size of the phone book and the answering machine on this phone because of their higher end models. There's only 50 avaiable numbers and 15 minutes of talk time on the AM. Although I have yet to exhaust the capacity of the answering machine - who wants messages more than 3 mintues anyway - the phone book is already filled. That kind of [edit]. The great thing about caller ID is how easily you can record a persons number. At least there's a 50 number record of callers. 4) One feature I miss on the Siemens is the ability to use the base as an intercom system. You can immediately broadcast you voice over the speaker phone on the base station. It's a great way to track someone down. On the Panasonic, you can set it up to immediately _hear_ the other side (its called room monitor) but you can't talk over the speaker. Also, as far as I can tell you can't page all the handsets from another handset, only from the base station. It's not clear why that's an acceptable limitation. 5) The Siemens can have two base stations though I have no use for that feature. 6) On the Siemens, you can identify each handset with a name instead of a number but it is very awkward to set that up. Things I wish it could do: - Handle memory free batteries (I believe this would have been a low-cost feature but they chose to leave it off to differentiate their product line) - Have more handset flexibility in terms of being able to page other handsets or use the base station as an intercom. - Have more directory entries. I am very relieved to be done with the very flaky Siemens system. My firends got the same one at the time and also have done nothing but gripe about the handsets. It's too bad. The Panasonic have a quality that the Siemens does not. It's not perfect feature wise but I there was nothing that was. I would say it does 80% of what I want, and it does it clearly and consistently.
Rating: 
Summary: wish I had started here
Review: Just got the phone for Xmas and am doing the rather tedious setup. Maybe too many features for me. Since I have barely used it, I don't know about the purported lousy batteries. I do know, there is no backup battery in the base unit which will be a pain if we have a power outage. It has a great directory, but I would like to have auto-dial for numbers I dial frequently. My old 900mhz phone had only nine, but they were as easy as *X. Finally, the backlit display is far too dim and too small for older eyes. Not a good AARP phone. After using the phone for awhile, I'll update this, but for now, it lacks some of the things it should have and has many things that are unnecessary for most.
Rating: 
Summary: Great and Horrible Phone, all in one.
Review: I thought this phone sounded great so I bought it. Tons of great features, but this phone has serious pitfalls which overshadow the features. First, there is a limit of 3 minutes per call on the answering machine. You can change the default, but not above this (if they permit changing, why not to a higher number than 3 minutes??). Second, the Caller ID performance is poor. Sometimes you have to wait for 2 or more rings just to get the Caller ID info to show. Not very helpful when you want to know whether or not to pick up before the answering machine. On rare occasions, Caller ID information does not display at all. Third, and this is the WORST, the battery is AWFUL. It is recommended that you not re-charge until the battery gets completely low, but this is not practical. The battery strength indicator has 3 bars, and if you wait until you get to the 3rd bar before recharging, you better hope you don't get a phone call because you'll only have 15 minutes before the phone begins beeping incessantly at you to let you know. The beeps come in the form of periodic triple-beeps that interrupt your phone call...during the beeping you cannot hear the other party and they cannot hear you...it is extremely annoying and you have to wonder why it was made so. Does Panasonic think that the only way you will know that the battery is low is if they constantly beat you over the head? As a result your only choice is to NOT follow the recommendation. And now after 6 weeks of normal use (less than normal, actually...I am in a 1-person household and don't use the phone much) I have a completely useless battery. It will go from fully charged to completely dead in about 30 minutes, and takes forever to charge back up again. Bottom line: this phone has great features, but don't be fooled. I doubt many of its praisers have actually had it for very long. It's a total lemon. I'm out a lot of money for this piece of junk...don't allow the same to happen to you.
Rating:
Summary: SEVERE BATTERY PROBLEMS
Review: I PURCHASED THIS PANASONIC CORDLESS STRICTLY ON REPUTATION.
THIS TELEPHONE COULD BE AN EXCELLENT PRODUCT, IF IT WERE NOT FOR THE FAILURE OF THE CHARGING SYSTEM & BATTERIES THAT IT UTILIZES.
THIS PHONE IS USELESS FOR OTHER THAN SHORT & FEW CONVERSATIONS.
THE NI-CAD BATTERIES ARE TERRIBLE & LAST ONLY A SHORT TIME. PANASONIC LIED ABOUT THE 11 DAY STANDBY & 3.5 HOURS TALK TIME
THE TRUTH IS 6 HOURS STANDBY & 1/2 HOUR TALK TIME & NO SPARE BATTERY CHARGING ABILITY. NOTHING !![.]
NOW I HAVE THREE HANDSETS & THE BASE TELEPHONE & MY ONLY RECOURSE IS TO TOSS IT AWAY & START OVER. THE SIEMENS I HAD PREVIOUSLY WAS EXCELLENT ON BATTERIES USAGE, BUT IT HAD RECEPTION PROBLEMS, SIEMENS UTILIZES NICKLE METAL HYDRIDE RECHARGABLES. IT ALSO HAD THE ABILITY TO CHANGE BATTERIES.
PANASONIC, LIKE MANY OTHER COMPANIES REALLY STICK IT TO YOU BY MAKING YOU BUY THEIR BATTERIES, WHICH ALWAYS REQUIRE REPLACEMENTS.
STAY AWAY FROM THIS ONE, OR YOU TOO WILL BE FOOLED
Rating:
Summary: Great Phone & Features, little more and it would be perfect!
Review: An excellent 2-line, answering machine and cordless phone system with many nice, useful features. I certainly recommend it. I have the base + 3 additional expandable phones. Overall I'm very happy with the system. Phones are very clear and everything works as advertised. You can check your messages from any expandable phone - very convenient. Speakerphones on the handsets are great - although I would like to have the volume a little louder than the maximum. Never being satisfied with the status quo, I'd recommend the following enhancements and the phone system would be perfect: - Can only record 15 minutes on answering machine. Up it to at least 30 minutes. - While you can access your messages remotely, you can't change your outgoing message remotely. I like to use a feature like this to get a better outgoing message recorded instead of using the external microphone that is part of the base. - Add a optional audible tone that beeps if you have new messages. My AT&T had this and I loved it! - Display on unit should show number of messages, it only indicates this audibly after asking to play messages. - The base should have a battery compartment to allow to use the system during a power outage and as a spare battery for a handset. - Battery indicator on phones seems odd. After using any phone for about 30 minutes - it goes from full to almost empty. Takes many hours to show full again. Indicator never shows medium. UPDATE: I'm updating this review about a month and a half after using the phone. I changed from 4 stars to 3 stars. A few times the phone just shuts down during a conversation. This happens when the battery goes down to one bar. There is no warning at all - you are just disconnected from the caller. This has happened about 4 times during the last month. As long as we watch the battery - we are okay -- very inconvenient. Panasonic should not have used NiCad batteries which suffer severely from memory effect. If I weren't passed my return date - I'd consider going with something else because of this battery issue.
Rating:
Summary: could be better
Review: this phone system could be better,should have put some sort of battery backup in case of power failure,good range though,it would also have been nice if the base would have had a lighted screen that would stay on all the time,not just when a call comes in.has a good choice of ring styles,from a door bell sound to a wild gizmo sound,a total of six different ones.but all in all,another good phone from panasonic!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Bad experience..
Review: Initially I thought this was a great phone with nice features. The first problem was that it wouldn't charge. Panasonic support said they would send new batteries in 2 days. A week later I got an envelope with 2 pieces of velco to put in the battery compartment. There was no explanation of why the velcro instead of batteries. Range was poor, sound was scratchy. It took it back for a refund.
Rating: 
Summary: Finally -- a phone system which has it ALL!
Review: ...Yes, I love this phone. No, I don't have any connection to Panasonic. It's just that I've been waiting a long time for something like this at a price I could afford. The KX-TG2740S is the top of Panasonic's new line of expandable cordless phone systems (expandable means you can buy and add more handsets - in this case up to 7 in addition to the one which comes included). It has two lines, built-in digital answering machine with multiple mailboxes, keypad + speakerphone on the base station, caller-id, plus a great feature I couldn't find on any similar system, nor on Panasonic's more expensive KX-TG2000 and KX-TG4000 systems: a speakerphone in the handsets! This is invaluable when you call a voice-mail system or information service (like Moviefone) which requires you to push keys in response to voice prompts - or when you get put on hold by some customer service rep for 20 minutes. One of the additional handset models you can buy (the KX-TGA272S) has a built-in alarm clock and lies horizontally in its charger with a handy speakerphone button showing -- perfect for bedside or computer-side use. Range and voice quality are excellent; this is my first 2.5ghz phone and I was concerned that it might interfere with my wireless Airport network (or vice-versa), but that has not turned out to be the case, even with four handsets scattered around the house. Panasonic has always made good cordless phones - but with the KX-TG2740s it has really hit the bullseye IMO. (For those who don't need two lines and/or a built-in answering machine, the other models in this line [KX-TG2700s, KX-TG2720s, & KX-TG2730s] are also good bets).
Rating:
Summary: Promptly, & Like NEW!
Review: Great $, Prompt delivery, and excellent product. Thank you!
Rating:
Summary: Not good at all
Review: Very disappointed with this phone - after about a month, the display died and only comes on once in a blue moon. So much for caller ID. Also, after about 6 months, the battery stopped holding a charge very long. I considered getting another expandable handset, but I ended up buying a different phone.
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