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Panasonic KX-TG5100M 5.8 GHz DSS Expandable Cordless Phone with Answering System

Panasonic KX-TG5100M 5.8 GHz DSS Expandable Cordless Phone with Answering System

List Price: $199.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Solid Performance
Review: The phone is new and I've only tested about 2/3 of its capability. I had one other Panasonic (2.4GHz) phone for a week and returned it because of poor performance. The answering machine sounded bad and the sound quality during a phone call was terrible. This phone has excellent call sound quality and the answering machine sound quality is acceptable. The phone is not perfect, but I believe it is near the top of the heap for the phones that are currently out there. You won't be disappointed.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Lousy phone
Review: The sound quality is HORRIBLE. Whenever the other party speaks, there is faint white noise in the background. Don't waste your money. Panasonic used to make good phones, but this one is a piece of junk.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Shourya Ray
Review: There are very few expandable phone systems that work as well as the Panasonic KXTG5100. I was looking for a 5.8Ghz system to get around the static I experienced with 2.4ghz phones and my Wi-Fi (802.11b) home network.

In no particular order, here are my pros and cons about this system:

PROS:

1) Excellent speakerphone on the base

2) Ability to pickup voicemail from any handset (don't have to walk to the base-station to see if you have voicemail). Handset visually tells you which buttons to push to skip or repeat the message. It also shows the message # while the message is being played back.

3) Handsets have Privacy features to prevent other family members from accidentally picking up the line while you're on it (handy if you run a business out of your home .. or you are a teenager and don't appreciate your parents listening in)

4) Speakerphone on each handset means mobility and hands free talking

5) Each handset shows if the line is in use before you reach for it

6) Ability to copy the phonebook from any handset to any other handset. This is a huge timesaver! I have all my phone number/contacts programmed on one handset. From there I can transfer the phonebook to each of the other 3 handsets in the house with a few key strokes. Amazing!

7) Bi-directional 5.8Ghz means that no interference with home networks, microwaves, etc. The base-station sits two feet away from the wifi router. No static anywhere in the house.

8) Easy to transfer calls from handset to handset (say you pick up the call and realize it's for your spouse. No need to walk around looking for him/her. Just page the other handsets from your handset and hand-off the call. All we need now is some hold music! (which, incidentally, is not supported)

9) Handset has a "booster" feature that can be turned on to get rid of static if you have walked more than 3 floors away from the base-station. Works nicely too. Too bad it can't be left on all the time.

10) Room monitor system allows you to listen in on what's going on in the room that the handset is in from a different handset. I suppose that parents with small children might find this a nice feature. Fortunately, it's turned off by default.

11) When playing back a voicemail, the handset shows the phone number of the person who left that voicemail (if you have caller id). You can then call that person back immediately, by pressing Dial. Very handy

12) If you transfer a call to another handset and nobody picks up that handset, the base-station will conveniently transfer the call back to you

CONS:

1) Handset distance from the base-station could be better. I picked up a little static when I was three floors away from the base-station. The static is easily removed by engaging the booster mode on the handset. Unfortunately, there is no way to leave this permanently set to on.

2) Handsets may be a bit larger than what home users may be used to

3) Handsets don't show current date or time (odd, since the base-station shows both)

4) Handset volume could be a bit louder. It has a nice volume range that you can change but the max volume is still a bit lower than what you need for noisy homes (either that or I'm losing my hearing)

5) The base-station can page all handsets simultaneously. This is useful if you need to page your spouse/kids and don't know which floor of the house they are on. Mysteriously, this feature is not available with the handsets. When using a handset, you have to page other handsets individually -- no way to page them all together. I have 4 handsets in the house ... this is getting old very fast. Fortunately, the base-station sits near my work area.

6) No way to give each handset a meaningful name ("bedroom phone"). Instead, each handset has a unique registration number (1 through 7). When I need to page my wife on the third floor, I have to remember that the handset on the third floor is registered with the base-station as handset #4. Not very intuitive.

Lastly, no phone with this many features would be useable without a good manual. This phone comes with a manual that is well indexed. You can download the manual in a PDF format from panasonic's website if you want to go over the features yourself.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Outstanding telephone
Review: This is the finest cordless telephone that I have ever used. The voice quality is as good as the best corded phones. Very thoughtful features, although somewhat complicated to use. We find the the room monitor feature makes an excellent baby monitor. The handsets have good heft to them, and appear to be quite durable.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great phone!
Review: This is what I had been waiting for. Been very happy with it, only a couple of minor gripes.

Pros:

5.8 GHz both directions, doesn't interfere with my wireless LAN at all;
Ability to enter a phone number into the memory on one handset and share it with all the other handsets and the base;
Room monitor - you can call any handset or the base unit and listen through its microphone. I use it to listen for the oven timer when I'm in the computer room - no more burned food!
Very versatile - two handsets can talk to each other in intercom mode even if another handset is on a phone call;
Audio quality is excellent, as good as a regular corded phone IMO.

Cons:
No headset jack on the base unit - speakerphone only, and people often have difficulty hearing me. Actually, a base unit with a regular corded handset would be a great idea.
BATTERY LIFE - all those neat features suck down the juice in a hurry. At least you get a warning beep before the handset goes dead, giving you a minute or two to get to another phone.

I did a lot of research before deciding on this system. Even given its minor faults, I don't believe there's a better system out there at present.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Do No Buy
Review: This phone died after just two months. When I say died, I mean died - error read "System Error #1" and all lights on base were flashing. Called Panasonic, waited about 10min, and was told (as someone else said below) it probably was a power surge (doubtful - if it was it didn't affect anything else). Sent it back to Panasonic, and was told that I would be sent a refurbished/rebuilt unit, not a new one (wrong answer!).

Other than the dying, and poor customer service, the phone is great - excellent features and great reception. Maybe I just got a lemon.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Some Good Features but Flawed in Critical Functions
Review: This phone does have some good features that others have mentioned - excellent speakerphones in handsets, etc but is flawed in 2 critical functions. First, the volume is too low. Do not expect to use this phone with moderate background noise, e.g. with a fan running, or sizzling food cooking. IMHO, all phones should have a max volume that exceeds what you need in a quiet environment. Second, the answering machine sound quality is barely satisfactory. My old 900mhz Panasonic machine had better volume, better answer machine sound quality and more features, like the ability to page me, which this machine cannot do. Third, the interface for the answering machine is clunky. Why such problems and dropped features in a phone this expensive? Who cares about the rest of the features if you can't hear your conversations?

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Almost a great phone
Review: This phone has some really nice features - speakerphone in the handset, caller ID on each handset and the ability to transfer the telephone book between all handsets.

But there is one glaring problem which caused me to return it for a refund: The volume on the handsets is just way too low for any environment with any ambient noise. Even with the TV on low volume it is not that easy to hear. Panasonic tech support was prompt and polite, but the problem was not solved.

I do not expect such a simple flaw with such an expensive telephone system. It is not acceptable.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: SAY WHAT? This phone is way loud enough!
Review: This phone is excellent in every way. I totally disagree with the handful of reviewers who complain about low volume on the handsets. I'm prone to believe they have competition from screaming kids and a loud television, or hereto unrecognized hearing loss. There are 3 volume settings (low, medium, high). I can hear my callers perfectly on the low setting, but I generally keep it on medium to overcome background music and other white noise in my household. I've never needed the high setting or the boost -- not even when my ears were plugged from the flu, and not even when I walk my dog all the way around the block. I have one caller for whom I even turn the volume down to low (we've all got at least one friend with a booming, rock-the-walls, you-don't-have-to-yell voice, right?). All the other reviewers' remarks about the phone's assets are true, so I won't bother to reiterate them. It's the best phone on the market, especially if you need 5.8 GHz to avoid interference with your computer wireless 802.11 network (which is 2.4 GHz), or if you need the extended range & clarity it offers over 2.4 GHz. Finally, as a matter of personal taste, I prefer the sleek, cool, trendy styling, and small footprint of this machine over any others I examined.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best cordless phone on the market... period.
Review: This phone is expensive, but it's the best cordless phone on the market right now -- bar none. Sound quality is the same as a corded phone. I really like the larger size of the handset. It allows me to cradle the phone between my shoulder and neck (which everybody does at some point) without getting a neckache. If you attach the plastic belt clip it allows you to balance the phone even better. If this were a cell phone I would want it smaller, but it's not. It's a phone to be in your house, so I want it to be a comfortable size. Panasonic really did a perfect job on this phone. I can't think of a single thing I would change. And six different ringer tones? Cool! That's a feature I have never before seen on a cordless phone. Also, another favorite feature is the speakerphone built into the handset. This function really comes in handy. I also purchased the add-on handset to put upstairs and that works equally as well. I returned a Panasonic 2.4Ghz model because I was not satisfied with the performance. Although this phone is more expensive, you definitely get what you pay for. My 2.4Ghz phone took 2-3 rings to display caller ID info. This phone displays the info after 1 ring. Sound quality also was not as good with the 2.4ghz model. The upstairs unit suffered from a weird "echo" problem sometimes. The 5.8Ghz has no such problems. I've looked at a lot of phones, and I think the Panasonic 5.8Ghz is the best cordless you can buy right now.


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