Rating: Summary: So Far So Good. Great Phone for a Bargain Price Review: Well, this is the 3rd cordless phone I've tried in the past 3 weeks. I had an old KX-T4330 which we have had for about 11 years - worked great but just eventually died. We wanted a 900 Mhz ( I didn't want any interference with my 2.4Ghz wireless router) phone, with answering machine and caller id. I tried an AT&T 9371 (horrible sound quality - the worst), a Uniden EXAI378 (ok sound quality, no speakerphone), and the Panasonic KX-TC1743B. All were in the same price range. The AT&T and Uniden have both been returned. The KX-TC1743B has an amazing assortment of features for such a reasonably priced phone. One feature which I have found myself using again and again (and its one I wasn't specifically looking for) is that the handset can function as a speakerphone. So if I'm around the house, talking on the phone and need to have both hands free for a sec, I can put the handset on speakerphone mode and set it down as a mobile speakerphone! The sound quality of the phone is very good (although, unfortunately, not quite as good as my old Panasonic...but its close). Nice build quality, easy setup. Given the advances in technology, I wouldn't spend a bunch of money on any cordless phone (too much obsolescence risk) - so anyone looking for a reasonably priced cordless phone should definitely take a look at this one. I very much recommend it!
Rating: Summary: If a phone could call God, this would be it. Review: After eons of sifting through meager cordless phones...tried the cheapy Uniden, tried the expensive Sony models...when I found this Panasonic I knew my communication conquest was coming to a close. No more tape to get erased or worn out, no more battery problems, no more cheap handsets. Solid, extremely reliable, both base unit and handset have never had a problem despite my clumsy drops into the sink, off the balcony into the dirt, and sitting on my car dash in 100 degree heat. Heck, this phone should be rating me. ("Yeah, I give him 1-star, he treats me like trash. Defenestrated me once in a drunken act. Always slamming me down and screaming into me. What, he thinks I can't hear?") One of the best electronics purchases I've made in years.
Rating: Summary: Fantastic phone Review: I used a similar Panasonic phone before and absolutely loved it so I had little doubt in my mind about which brand to buy when I bought this one. Great things: Handset speakerphone - wonderful, build of the handset, talk time battery life, clarity, no need to press a button on base to answer intercom call from handset,slow speed message playback. Imperfect: Delay of 1 second for directory to appear when you want to select a number from list to dial, length of number that can be stored in memory falls short for very important use for me calling cards+international number sequences but I can program part of the number in base and use the combination. Have owned for a couple of months now and have not faced any problem like call dropping or voice muting or low volume. Because of its features my wife can handle our baby and all her phone talk simultaneously :-) Cool phone!
Rating: Summary: Has broken twice in less than a year Review: The handset sound quality is excellent and the caller ID works fine. The answering machine sound quality is marginal and it is quite difficult at times to hear exactly what the message says. The worst part, however, is that it has broken twice in less than a year. Very poor reliability.
Rating: Summary: Wall Mount Problem Review: So far this phone has been good. The only problem I found, which is beyond me as to why Panasonic messed up on this one, is when you have to hang the phone onto a wall mount jack. The top screwhole is built into the phone, and theres a wall phone adapter that pops in on the bottom of the phone thats for the bottom screw on a wall plate. The problem is that the top screwhole, the one thats built in with the plastic mold of the phone, is not thin enough for a wall mount jack screw. What I mean is, you have to pry the top screw of your wall jack out about 1/8inch out so that this phone will hang on it. For most folks, its a pain to hang a phone onto a wall jack, matching up the screw holes and sliding the phone into them. With this one, you'll never do it. I almost broke mine trying. Considering that most of America has that standard telephone company issued silver wall plate, which is standardized to the old Bell System specs, this phone will not fit over the top screw unless you pry it with a screwdriver. It might work with one of those Radio Shack wall jacks, Im not sure. In case your wondering, I am in the phone wiring business so i had the oppurtunity to make sure it just wasnt my wall plate (although my other wall phones had no problems) and I got the same result with 2 more brand new wall plates. I would consider this a pretty big screwup. Other than that, if youre using this as a desktop, its a pretty good phone
Rating: Summary: Loses the signal a lot Review: Disappointing. This phone loses the signal from the base frequently, with up to 5 second periods where you cannot hear the person you are speaking with, and they cannot hear you. It gets worse the further you get from the base, but even from across the room (15 ft.) it regularly loses the signal.
Rating: Summary: Disappointed Review: We had a problem where this phone's battery had to be recharged constantly. Finally, we replaced the battery. Then, it worked briefly before the problem reoccurred. Then, it died completely. We havent had it very long.
Rating: Summary: Handset failed after 9 months Review: As others have noted, this product has a nice feature set and reasonable to good voice clarity, esp. on the speakerphone. In fact, I liked it so much that I bought the version without the answering device to use as a wall mount phone in our kitchen. The problem we had was when the handset became unable to link to the base. Since operating the phone relies so heavily on using the handset (to pickup caller ID records, set the time, etc.) it's not really functional in this state. I'm now shopping for an separate answering machine. I've come to the conclusion that it may not be the best idea to combine the answering machine with the phone itself - a failure means replacing everything. I'm really disappointed that the Panasonic failed in so short a period - while it worked it was actually pretty good. While I could return it for repairs, I don't really want to be without an answering machine for the month or two that would take.
Rating: Summary: Not Good Review: Bought this phone a year ago, worked fine for a year and then started trouble. Gets disconnected while talking, cant hear what the other person says.
Rating: Summary: very good phone-so far anyway Review: Four and a half stars really. We just bought this phone to replace an old Panasonic on which the answering machine is dying. The Caller ID is backlit and lights up the apppropriate caller when playing that person's message. Very easy phone to program, and we are not techy at all! You can dial from either the base or the handset, the handset will charge when placed either face up or down on the cradle. Speaker phone and locator both work well. Can't really find a flaw with this phone, unless you are real picky about the sound quality on the answering machine. The sound is not the best, but you can kick up the volume on the playback, and slow down the playback too.
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