2.4 GHz operation * dual handset operation * built-in digital answering machine with up to 15 minutes total record time * 3-line backlit LCD display on handsets * Talking Caller ID (where available; feature can be turned off) * Call Waiting Caller ID shown on handsets (where available; requires subscription from your local phone service provider) * voice mail message waiting indicator (requires voice mail subscription from phone service provider) * Voice Enhancer Technology (adds lost frequencies back to voices) * Chain Dial * 50-entry phone directory * Caller IQ (requires subscription) * 50 Caller ID memory * handset speakerphones * base keypad * downloadable ringtones * jack for optional headset * illuminated handset keypad * wall-mountable * warranty: 1 year
The KX-TG2357B is a 2.4 GHz phone system that comes with a number of useful extras, including a second handset and integrated answering machine. By utilizing the 2.4 GHz frequency and digital frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology, the phone is able to offer clearer reception at greater distances than traditional analog and even many digital phones. Plus, Panasonic's Voice Enhancer technology helps to reproduce a wider frequency range than many other phones do, resulting in more intelligible speech.
Caller ID has a 50-number internal memory and audibly announces the name or number of the incoming caller. A 30-number internal phone directory allows you to store your most frequently used phone numbers, while a display-and-dial feature lets you scroll through either the directory or caller ID lists and call with the touch of a button.
Additional features include an all-digital answering machine with a new-call indicator, so you know when you have new messages waiting. An intercom/paging function allows you to communicate with other phones on the system, while speakerphones on both the base and handsets allows you to communicate hands-free. Illuminated handset keypads make dialing easy, even in the dark. Headset compatible, the KX-TG2357B also comes with a belt clip and is wall-mountable, keeping your countertop clear from extra clutter.
What's in the Box
Base unit, two handsets, two battery packs, two battery covers, one remote charger base, two AC adapters, two belt clips, one telephone line cord, one wall mount, instructions
1 Poor range - had to return
I have a 900 MHz DSS Uniden EXI8965 cordless phone which I have had for a few years and have been *very* satisfied with it. It has excellent voice quality, good range, and great battery life and I hope to continue to use this phone for a long time in the future.
However, I have a den which does not have a phone jack and therefore I need a dual handset phone so I can have keep a handset in the den at all times. I have been searching for a dual handset cordless phone for some time with the following features:
(1). Fairly large and comfortable feeling handset. I guess I am old fashioned (and old) and like the larger handsets much better than the smaller ones.
(2). Good voice quality.
(3). Good range.
(4). The ability to use both handsets at the same time. Plus the ability when using one handset, to simply pick up the other handset and join in the conversation.
(5). Speaker in the handset.
(6). Caller ID/Call Waiting
(7). Chain dialing for long distance and calling card usage.
(8). At least 50 memory locations for storing caller ids.
(9). Five or more last number redials.
(10). Lighted keypad.
(11). Large display with date and time of call, caller name, and caller number on one screen.
(12). Selectable ring tones by caller. I now have BellSouth Complete Choice local service where you can have a distinctive ring for up to 10 different numbers. Using this feature, I can tell when my kids or grandkids are calling before I answer the phone. However, I can't tell which one is calling because there is only one distinctive ring. I was looking for something like the AT&T VIP ring feature.
(13). Misc other features like Intercom, handset paging, and fairly secure transmission. No answering machine capability.
(14). I didn't want to pay over about $100 for the phone set.
I found the Panasonic KX-TG2357B on sale at Staples ($20 rebate). It seemed to have gotten pretty good reviews on the Internet for the most part so I decided to go ahead and buy it. The phone had an answering system which I didn't need but the $20 rebate was enough to help convince me to buy it anyway. I came home and unpacked it and plugged it in for its 6 hour charge. I installed the base station at one end of the house and the extra handset at the other end of the house in my den. After charging, I began testing the phones out.
Pros: Nice set of features. Nice sizing of handsets for me. Attractive phone. I liked the handset speakerphone. Not a bad price.
Cons: There were two main problems:
(1). *Range*. My house is about 70' long. The base was at one end of the house and the second handset was in the den at the other end. There is a brick wall between the base and the second handset. When using the phone in the den, the reception was bad. The conversation kept breaking up to a moderate degree. If I moved on the other side of the brick wall, the reception seemed to be fine. I could have moved the base closer to the second handset but I needed the Intercom capability between both ends of the house and I would have lost this had I moved the base. I understand that wireless networks, microwaves, etc. can affect 2.4ghz phones. I don't have a wireless network, nor to my close neighbors plus the microwave wasn't running.
(2). Sound Quality. The sound quality on my end was pretty good if I wasn't too far from the base station. However, the sound quality for the person to whom I was talking was not good, according to the person who was helping me test out the phones. He said it sounded like I was calling from a not so good cell phone. I could call him on my Uniden and he said the sound quality from it was very good - just like a corded phone.
Other Comments:
(1). Talking Caller Id. I liked the idea of the talking caller id. However, for me, it did not prove to be that useful. The main reason is that the phone does not tell you who is calling until after it rings twice. Usually by that time, I have already picked the phone up and checked the caller id. I believe for me, a distinctive ring tone for certain callers would be more useful. However, for some people, I could see where the talking caller id would be useful. I understand that this is a limitation of the phone company, not Panasonic, as the caller id information is not transmitted until after the second ring. As other reviewers have noted, it does not always pronounce the names correctly and even provides some humor in the way it pronounces names at times.
(2). Caller ID display. It takes two screens to display all the caller id information when you receive a call. I believe the number of the caller is displayed on the second screen. The phone alternates back and forth between the first screen and the second screen of information. This is not critical but just an annoyance. My Uniden displays all the information on one screen which I like.
(3). You have to press one button to answer the phone and another to hang up. I prefer to press Talk to answer and to press Talk again to hang up. Not critical - just my personal preference.
Couple more comments:
Since I love my old Uniden cordless phone, I looked into getting a dual handset Uniden phone. However, it appears that you can only talk on one handset at a time. At least this is the case on the cheaper Uniden phones. If anyone knows differently or has found a dual handset phone that you are happy with which has the features I am interested in, please e-mail me.
I mentioned earlier that I bought the Panasonic phone from Staples. When I returned it they were very nice and helpful and I would recommend them. I am not associated with them in any manner whatsoever.
I am still searching for the perfect dual handset cordless phone!
2 Great phone to work with VOIP.
I originally purchased this phone to use with VONAGE VOIP service. Then I realize you can actually rewire your home phone switch box to have all the phone jacks in your house to run off 1 single VOIP line. So that kinda destroyed the purpose for me to buy this phone buy still, I don't regret my decision on purchasing this phone. I must say I am a big Panasonic phone fan. After I purchased this phone, I realize now I have 4 Panasonic phones in my house (2 from this Dual handset, 1 older Panasonic 2.4Ghz cordless phone, and 1 fax machine). All-in-all great product with nice features. Surely this phone doesn't pronounce the name from Call ID that well, but I am usually able to hear who is calling me.
One drawback... Pain in the A$$ for trying to enter names into phone book. For example, when you want to type MONEY. Notice M, N, O are all on #6, you can't just wait 2 seconds and press the number again to have the cursor move to next block, you have to press "6" and "->" then "6" to have enter "MO".
Still a great phone after you entered the phonebook first.
3 Excellent phone
Great phone system for the price. Happy with everything.
Only con is that the speaker phone on handsets do not go louder.
Still sound very good though.
4 Worked for 5 days a quit
Base handset lost connection with base station. Before this, the range was very poor. A waste of money. Look for something else, and not a V-Tech. They are bad too.
5 Good Features, Good Value
We moved recently and our old, reliable Radio Shack answering machine/phone didn't survive the move. So we found and bought the Panasonic 2357 and for the most part are happy with it. Other reviewers have covered the key operational points well, so I'm just chiming in to say that battery life looks to be good thus far and audio quality is very good to excellent. I like the features and the layout. The handset is a little bit slippery and on longer calls, my thumb gravitates towards the rubber cover that blocks the headset plug hole to get a better grip. Range is excellent and the talking caller ID is useful.
6 Not reliable
Greetings. I bought this system and three additional phones to go with it. I think the design is outstanding, and it's a great set of features (being able to have only one base unit and simply add phones in other rooms) but unfortunately, the reliability isn't there. The LCD displays on two of the phones have crapped out, and now the phone that sits on the base unit keeps losing contact with the base during phones calls, despite the fact that I am only two feet away at my desk when using it. If everything worked as designed and the reliability was good, I'd be praising this phone to the sky, but as it stands now, I'd have to say, look for something else.
7 dont buy
Had problem with several panasonic phones holding a charge. Purchased 5 in all over the past 2 years and panasonic was not helpful at all in fixing the problems. They apparently don't want repeat customers. If you still want to buy a panasonic phone make sure that you keep all the paperwork and boxes so that you can return it.
8 very satisfied
We bought this phone in mid-Sept to replace another cordless phone with answering machine. Our major requirements were a portable phone with good clarity and especially an answering machine with good clarity. This Panasonic scores well on both counts. The 2nd handset is also a plus; it let us get rid of a no-features corded phone at the same time. The speaker phones on the handsets are great, allowing me to hear and talk w/o holding the phone to my head. The handset intercom feature is handy, rather than yelling from one end of the house to the other.
The answering machine is very clear. It's also remotely accessible, with prompts to guide you through message retrieval if you're not at home.
We don't use callerID, so I can't comment on that feature. Overall, this is a great phone for our needs. After a month of use we see no negatives for us. I'd recommend it to anyone with similar needs.
9 Waste of time
I bought this phone to replace an old sony 900 mhz and separate answering machine set up. I thought it would be nice to replace the two units with one.
Bad move. Everything seemed fine with the panasonic unit at first-- i was impressed with all the nifty features-- but when I called myself (using my cell phone) the answering machine cut off after about 10 seconds and didn't register that a message had been left. I went online to the panasonic site and tried all the "tips" including setting the date/ time, setting the record time, using the default greeting, "rebooting" the machine several times, all to no avail. I even tried replacing the unit with a new one. Again, no luck.
I'm back to my old Sony set up. It's old and ugly, but at least it works...
10 Talking Caller ID did not work for me
I was excited on purchasing this phone with the Talking Caller ID feature. I programmed my phone numbers and it does not work! I called Panasonic customer service and the phone company and it still doesn't work - such a disappointment. The caller ID works just fine except the talking caller ID :(
11 Great phone, lots of features ...
I love this phone, but if you are answering in one handset, the
other handset does not know!, so it keeps the call as "NEW".
There is no new calls indicator, if the person called did not
leave a voice mail you will see no blinking lights!.
Ringer option is one the best. Audio quality is very good.
If you need only two handsets this is a great phone.
12 Great Phone packed with features for the price
I just purchased this phone a few days ago, I was amazed at the quality and features it has, I love the sound quality and its very easy to use, the talking caller ID i must admit it isnt the greatest as some words are not pronounced right also I wish there were an option of choosing to either say the name or the number but for the money it is not bad at all this is why I gave it a 4 star.If your looking for a very well priced cordless phone and want all the bells and whistles this phone is for you.The display is very readable, battery life is good.All in all its priced just right.
13 worth the price
I researched many expandable phones, either too pricy, or too many problems. Finally panasonic leveraged price and features in one phone. I tested it for 2 days, it seems to have good features and the cordless phones also seem to be smaller compared to earlier models. The only con is its only expandable to one cordless. But its worth the money. Goodluck.
14 Finally all the best features in one!
Panasonic has definitely been doing their homework. The KX-TG2357B has all the best features one could want in a cordless answering system in both function and appearance at a very reasonable price. I'm a confessed phone nut, searching for the "perfect phone". I own both Motorola and Panasonic's top of the line models of 2003 (MD681 & KX-TG5100 respectively) but I just wasn't satisfied. Recently I noticed Panasonic had presented a new model line,did some research and purchased the 2357B.
What I found was a collection of great features and improvements, which to save time, I'll list below.
1) Lighter handset, slightly smaller with an improved
ergomomic contour with crisp backlit LED displays.
2)Improved handset speaker phone voice quality.
3)NMH battery.
4)Short antenna with a ringer/message alert light on the
tip!
5)Simplified navigation buttons contolling a cell phone
system. (no more space wasting navigation disc)
6)Full commication (phonebook , intercom and conference)
between handsets.
7)Intuative, simple answering system controls with very
usefull LED display window.
8)Attractive styling in charcoal black. Enough silver
already!
9)Talking caller ID. Works great!!
10)Includes 2 handsets!
I join the previous reviewers in highly recomending this phone system, so thoughtfully executed, at a better than reasonable price!
15 Highly recommended
I agree 100% with "An electronic fan's" previous review. I'll just add that the range on this phone is great. I walked 1 block from my house with the phone and it sounded just as clear as it does 10ft from the transmitter.
Also, if you have caller ID service this phone has talking caller ID which works surprizingly well. When you receive a call the phone will ring a couple of times and then announce "call from Doe, John" from the handsets and the base. This makes it easy to screen your calls.
I really like the fact that you can access just about every function and feature through the handsets like retrieving messages, speakerphone, editing settings, etc.
An excellent value, highly recommended.
16 Lots of Value for the Money
This Panasonic phone was a replacement for a previous 900MHz model that we'd had for a number of years. I checked out ratings for cordless phones at a leading consumer magazine's website, and Panasonic was by far the highest-rated manufacturer, though there are many fine brands of cordless phones.
What sets this model apart is the features included for a very reasonable price, especially the inclusion of a second handset. It's great to have what amounts to three phones in one, since the base unit includes a keypad of its own in addition to the handset it accomodates. The base has a speakerphone built in, as do the handsets, so you can work hands-free anywhere. The ability to plug in a headset to the handsets is also convenient, though I personally don't envision the need to do so.
The clarity of the sound is truly extraordinary, and one of Panasonic's main advantages. The Voice Enhancer technology is valuable in the event of a bad connection, but even without it the intelligibility is superb.
Another nice feature is the variable ring tones on the base unit as well as the handsets, including several melodies. You can also subscribe to a service where other melodies and tones are downloadable, but this seems a bit nonsensical. After all - it's a phone, not a stereo system!
The unit and the handsets are easy to operate, and the instruction manual is clearly written with plenty of diagrams.
You won't be disappointed with the KX-TG2357B - it's a great system, easy to use, great-sounding, and the price is right.
By the way, I didn't happen to purchase mine at Amazon, but wanted you to know that this is a fine product for your consideration.
