This remarkably versatile cordless phone system gives you the flexibility to expand it on an as-needed basis. You'll be able to add as many as 7 more handsets to keep your staff or family within easy reach of each otherwhether you want to hold a group conference call or let the kids know that dinner's ready. This system has flexibility-plus. With the 2-way intercom/paging feature, you can call any other extension on the system. Want privacy? You can opt to deny the other extensions access until your call is over. You can even use the handsets as room monitors! Also, when you add extra handsets, since these are wireless phones, your extensions are ready to operate instantlyno installation, phone jacks, or additional wiring necessary. The built-in digital answerer records up to 15 minutes of messages. The base unitand all add-on handsetsuse the 2.4 GHz frequency with digital spread spectrum technology, which means that you'll be able to talk cordless without worrying about crosstalk from other phones or eavesdroppers. And in the added-comfort category, you'll appreciate the speakerphones in the base unit and handsets that allow you to talk unencumbered.
So that you can have a phone in every room in the house, Panasonic's KX-TG2730 expands to offer up to eight separate handsets (model KX-TGA270S sold separately, one included). Each one can act as an intercom to that room, allowing you to know what's happening even when you're at the other end of the house. Enjoy the benefits of extra extensions without the hassle of extra wires.
A four-line LCD panels displays the name and number of callers (with subscription to Caller ID service) and provides access to a 50-number phone directory that supplies one-touch dialing. A 10-number speed dialer and convenient speakerphone are located on the base, as is a fully digital answering system that provides up to 15 minutes of message time, each with a time and date stamp.
Choose from six programmable ringer tones and take advantage of the system's toll saver feature, which allows you to check messages away from home without accruing unnecessary long distance charges.
Panasonic provides a one-year warranty for parts and service.
What's in the Box
Base unit, handset, battery, battery cover, AC adapter/charger, telephone line cord, short line cord for wall mount, instructions, warranty/service information
Note: This model is no longer in production, so you may have difficulty finding additional handsets that are compatible with the phone's expandability feature.
1 Battery Buster
I've had this phone system for 2 years (one main unit and 3 other stations). 2 very long and frustrating years. First: This phone has an audible feature that tells you that it needs to be charged. (This seems to happen only when you are using the phone.) However, its warning is also a signal that in the next few seconds you had better grab another phone or your call will be disconnected. Second: It eats batteries for its main course and for dessert it consumes another. Third: The screen is difficult to see in certain lighting. Fourth: I e-mailed Panasonic (February 2005) telling them how I've been a loyal consumer to their brand for over 25 years and how extremely disappointed I am in this system. They responded with
"Dear MR DANSBY
Thank you for contacting Panasonic.
Your patronage as a satisfied Panasonic customer is truly valued. Therefore, we appreciate this information regarding your experience with our product. We do regret to hear of your dissatisfaction. Be assured all consumer comments, whether favorable or not, are appreciated. All comments are investigated and given careful consideration in our continuing effort to produce high quality products, and customer service that consumers expect from our label.
Thank you for taking the time and sharing your comments."
I've not heard another word from them and one of our phones has died, so, as a result I'm dumping this entire system and going to one recommended by Consumer's Report. (Visualize this system lying on the driveway and a vehicle doing drive-overs; back and forth.)
2 Great Value for Cordless TAD
all of the reviewers below have got to read the instructions regarding charging the battery a FULL 24 HOURS before using the phone as it greatly affects performance of the phone both long and short term.
Bottom line on this phone, too many solid features (handset speakerphone is a MUST have with kids) to pass up at this price point. Add to that the expandability to 8 handsets, this is a no-brainer.
3 Awesome value
I am very happy with this Panasonic phone. We bought one for our kitchen and ended up ordering six more additional handsets for all around the house and garage. I like being able to program it from the base and answer with speaker phone on the base or handset-- very convenient. There are tons of features that I still need to figure out how to use! To sum it up, the phone is an all-around great value.
4 NICE PHONE BUT MISLEADING INFO. ON BOX
I PURCHASED THIS PHONE BECAUSE IT IS EXPANDABLE AND THE BOX STATES THAT "ONE HANDSET IS INCLUDED". THE MISLEADING STATEMENT ON THE BOX LEAD ME TO BELIEVE THAT IT CAME WITH ONE OF THE EXPANDABLE HANDSET.
THE ONE HANDSET THATS INCLUDED IS THE ONE THAT GOES ON THE BASE UNIT WHICH EVERY CORDLESS PHONE COMES WITH.
I YOU PURCHASE THIS MODEL EXPECTING THE EXTRA HANDSET THAT MAKES IT EXPANDABLE YOU'LL NEED TO PURCHASE THE EXTRA HANDSET SEPARATELY.
5 Should be a Lemon Law for these phones
We have 8 of these phones and are extremely careful about the dreaded memory effect and they still are awful!!! The displays fade in and out at will....whether they are fully charged or not. We have one phone that will last all of one dialing fully charged. We bought new batteries for these and started all over, not charging until the phone was completely dead. Same results as before. HEY Panasonic...these are the most terrible phones we have ever had.
6 Bought this phone for a business
My employer purchased this phone for our salon. It began acting up about a week into owning it , and got so bad that we had to go back to our old phones within the month. It would constantly be "searching for channels" and would drop calls from clients! Unfortunately , she had thrown out the box, and we are stuck. I'll never buy this brand phone for myself, and I tell anyone I can to avoid it!
7 Blank LCD Screen
I have had this phone and system for one year and it works extremely well except that my handsets go blank all the time. I have seven of these phones and all of them except for one has gone blank. The LCD screen comes back at random and it drives me nuts. I also dislike Panasonics support as I have had to deal with them more than once. You wait on the phone forever to get anyone and they aren't much help anyway. If I were you I would not get this system from Panasonic.
8 Don't waste your money!
Very poor battery goes from full to recharge w/o warning, LCD screen goes blank all the time. I've sent this phone to Panasonic TWICE already for warranty replacement, and the refurbished ones are as bad. Extremely disappointing for something so expensive.
9 Worst phone ever!
This is the worst phone we ever bought! The battery failed on us after less than a month. The rest of the phone broke a few days after the one-year warranty expired. The panasonic website does not even provide you with an appropriate customer contact to complain. This is the very last panasonic product we have bought for sure.
10 It's not what I've expected...
I bought this phone because of its features: Caller ID, answering machine and expandable. But sorry to say I agree with most of the reviews of this phone. When I'm talking on the phone the other side of the line couldn't hear me for half of the time. I use the phone the first when I call my mom who's oversea and she said 'Why are you talking to me on a cheap phone?' It's not fun using this phone when calling long distance when I'm paying for every single minute, not even fun when I paid $130 for the phone, not at all. After reading the reviews I do realised that the caller id always have 'incoming' call and yes it is slow to show the number that's calling. I'll sure to try the method a review pointout to improve the function of the caller id.
I had not have any complaint about the battary life maybe because I don't talk too long a time.
If I had read the reviews before buying the phone, I don't think I get this after all.
11 A Great Phone
We've had this phone for over a year, expanded it with several others, and have never had any problems. The battery life has been great and no one has complained about not being able to hear us, etc. In my case, I would never even know I was on a cordless phone. It's strange that some people have had so many problems...but personally, I would have to say it's easily the best phone we've had.
12 DO NOT BUY THIS PHONE, ITS A BUMMER !!!
UPDATE!!!
I replaced original battery with Energizer Nickel-Metal Hybride NiMH 1200mAh ER-P511. This battery will make this phone one incredible talking monster (3 to 4 hrs talk time, no memory effect). Make sure you are buying 1200mAh not cheaper 800mAh which is widely avaliable. 1200mAh one will cost you $25 and I found it only in best buy.
I came across this site, because I am looking to replace the phones battery. I have been using this phone for about a year ( 11 months) to be exact, and I am very dissapointed with its battery performance. Although phone is rich in features, its battery life is terrible, terrible. From only 1 hour talk time when phone was new, it is now no more than 30min. My old phone 900Mhz analog Panasonic did not need to be charged for days, this phone takes 2 days to charge. I bought it for its digital answering system and 2.4Ghz range and good looks. My previous experience with this brand was very positive, it looks like a bad product design. This phone is a BUMMER !!!!
13 I like this phone
We bought this phone several months ago after 2 bum tries with other makes/models. This one provides flexibility with the expansion option and speaker phone system. Caller id is a little slow to respond but not a problem. The low rating on this product's reviews doesn't reflect the true worth of this phone, in my opinion. Obviously someone has chosen to sway the rating lower due to some deeper issue. My recommendation is to see for yourself. If you're looking for an expandable phone, buy this one from a reputable place and try it out for a few weeks. If you don't like it, return it within the store's return policy.
14 Junk Phone.....
As stated by previous reviews this is a junk phone. My old Panasonic 900mhz was great and worked for years after being dropped a number of times.
This phone has a horrible battery life and the individuals on the other end of the line constantly complain about you being hard to hear. I have tried everything and nothing short of shouting at the phone helps. DO NOT BUY THIS PHONE!!!!!!!!!
15 The Best Phone For your Buck
I have been using this phone for about 2 weeks now and I have to say that this phone is just about perfect. I have no idea why so many people have battery issues. The fact is that if your battery does not last, go out and buy energizer battery. Its NiMH (ER-P511) there is no memory and it lasts for 10hrs talk time.
The only bad thing for me is that, there is no blinking light when you have missed calls.
If you are thinking about buying this phone, do it, you will love it. Do not listen to the reviews.
16 People, stay away from this junk, it's a true LEMON!!!!!!!!
I have to repeat what everybody have already said about this terrible piece of equipment:
-the worst battery ever: I already have two batteries and none of them stays charged for more than 1 day, and this is if I don't use the phone!
-problems with the Caller ID, like most of the other people.
-Cust. Service people know one thing to say: send the phone to our technical dept. and .....you know the rest of it!
I can keep going and going, but the bottom line is:
Don't buy it! It's a piece of junk!!!!
17 Piece of junk
Even though phones with identical features are available for less than half the cost, I bought this phone mistakenly believing Panasonic quality was worth the extra money. However, this phone is a piece of junk. For one, the "DIGITAL SP-PHONE" button frequently stops working, both before attempting to make a call and after completing a call. That is right, you cannot hang up !! In fact, all buttons in that vicinity fail to work. I have to unplug the phone for several minutes to make these work again and even this strategy fails at times.
It is amazing Panasonic decided to put Ni-Cd batteries instead of Ni-Mh. Battery life is a joke !
The only option appears to be to ship my phone to their service center (at MY expense). But, after reading the reviews here, I realize that is a waste of time and money. Shame on the engineers who designed this phone and shame on the company that continues to sell this !
Lessons learnt:
1. Before buying ANY product, check the reviews at amazon.com. A good number of negative reviews means a definite no-no.
2. NEVER again a Panasonic product. *NEVER*
BTW, IMHO, this product is an excellent candidate for a class-action lawsuit.
18 It's worse than you can imagine...
I'm not often compelled to write negative reviews of products, but I just couldn't help myself on this one. Based on my experience, and the experience of a good friend who also owns this system (we both own the base unit with one or more extensions... I have two extension units myself) I would have to say that Panasonic has made a very poor decision to let this one out of the RnD lab. I've had every problem you can imagine with these phones... the battery life sucks right out of the box... one unit went bad and stopped charging the battery... one unit has a bad display... they interfere with other electronic devices... these phones are a joke. I've had VTech phones before, and they worked great... these phones really do suck.
19 Very Dissappointed!!
For the price I paid for this unit (I think almost $130 without the answering system feature) this phone should last 5 years! I charged the phone for more than the reccomended 15 hrs prior to use, and to my surprise, the battery died within 10 minutes of use the next day. I have replaced the battery 3 times now with both Panasonic and non brand batteries, and nothing has worked. It will appear to have charged to the full 3 bars, yet when I lift it off the reciever, it will drop down to one bar in seconds! This is even after a full 24 hours of uninterrupted charging. My calls get cut off even when the display shows 3 full bars, and the phone will say that it is out of range of the base even when it is only 6 inches away!
DO NOT BUY THESE PHONES!!! At least wait until it seems that Panasonic has fixed the problem!
20 Not Impressed
In short, I like gadgets with features. I thought I would like this phone system. I bought into this phone and set them up around the home. The reviews below are accurate. The battery life is short (less than 1 hour talk time) and I have already had to replace the batteries and I have not yet had the phone 1 year.
The 'flash' feature does not work. I have Verizon and it does not respond when the 'flash' feature is pressed. Verison says it is the phone not giving the right signal or it is too short of a signal.
Otherwise, the clarity is fine. I just hate not being able to easily switch to a second caller. I'd stay away from the series (maybe this brand) when I spend money to update this system.
Good Luck!
21 Great Phone System
I recently purchased this phone system (along with two additional handsets) to replace our 900mhz cordless phones. Set up is simple, entering names/#'s in the phone book is straightforward, and streaming the phone book entries to other handsets is awesome. Intercom feature works very well. I haven't found the batteries to be an issue like others have, but I tend to keep the phones on the base when not actively in use. Hopefully my good luck continues!
22 Ive had this phone since it came out...
Ive had this phone since I came out and its worked really well. Battery life really isnt an issue for me since I dont use it for hours at a time. I make my call, get off and toss it back on the charger. The speaker phone is a handy feature along with the base station phone. I still am using the original battery after 4 months. Its worked for me.
23 Defective Phone Terrible Customer Service
I purchased this phone about ten months ago. I am now on my fourth battery, and will probably be sending the phone back to Panasonic for the second time. Battery life is absolutely terrible. Maximum talk time is 30 minutes at best, but is typically much less. Customer Support is useless, don't waste your time. The personnel are surly and uncooperative. I'm pretty sure that after four trys, I know how to charge the battery, but the first words out of their mouths is that I didn't do it right. This is followed closly by send the phone to our Customer Support Center. Never mind that I have already done this only to have the phone returned six weeks later with a finding of no fault found, installed new battery. The only glimmer of intellegent life at the other end of the phone this last time was the comment by the agent "there must be something wrong with the phone" unfortunately that statement was followed with "send it to the Service Center, they will fix it". Fat chance. Oh and don't bother to try to call the Service Center. Panasonic has come up with a great way to reduce call volume, no toll free number. This phone is a lemon. Don't buy it, or any other Panasonic product again. They lost my trust, and it will be a long time, if ever, before they get it back.
24 Few PROs.. many CONs
I had Panasonic cordless 900 Mhz phone before... it was way better than this one. Panasonic took away some very useful features such as Automatic paging when the incomeing message is received, better battery life, ability to still hear clearly when another person picks up another phone on your end. I would stay away from this model, I hope newer model have better features.
25 Great features but Terrible Battery life -4-5 mos after buy
If I had reviewed this phone soon after I had bought it (first 2-4 months), I would have given it at least 4 stars because of the features and pretty good battery time. However as time went on, battery life has deteriorated to a point that it is a joke. Sometimes we get just 20 minutes without speaker phone. I have both a speaker phone/base station and an extension set. The extension is worse, but the base station is only slightly better in terms of battery life. So if you see 4 or 5 stars in the rating by some ...reviewer for this phone, you know it is someone who just recently bought the phone; if you seee 1 star, it is someone like me, who has had this phone for a while, who Panasonic has nicely fleeced but has finally figured it out!!!
26 And they STILL continue to sell these Lemons!!!!
As a loyal Panasonic customer who has been buying Panasonic almost exclusively for the last 25 years, I have to say that I couldn't be more disappointed with these phones!
From day one, after following their instructions to a tee, I have had battery charging problems that just got worse with each day! It's not just a fluke either because BOTH extension phones I purchased have the same problems. These phones are supposed to stay charged on stand-by for 3 weeks. I am lucky if they last one hour! The real kicker is that the reason I replaced my previous PANASONIC phone, which was not very old, was to remedy a similar battery charging problem!
Another problem is with the Caller ID function. It almost never shows up until the last ring and about 1/3 of the time it never shows up at all! My last phone showed the caller ID usually after only the first ring.
I see from the large number of reviewers giving the same complaints, that I am not alone. From reading other people's stories over many months, it seems that Panasonic has not been able to remedy their problems very well either. These phones were really expensive and now I have no other choice but to throw them away and buy new ones!!!
The biggest disappointment I have overall is that after more than a year of knowing of these serious problems, Panasonic STILL continues to sell these phones without even blinking!!! Because of this, after 25 years of buying their products almost exclusively, it will be a l-o-n-g time before I buy another Panasonic product again!!!
27 Pretty Cool Phone
For the money, I'm sure you could find a better basic cordless phone... although this one is pretty rich with features: Speaker phone on the handset, access messages from the handset, caller id, .. and the list goes on (all which have worked very well for me). The disappointing things I found with this phone were: battery life (I think I saw 3 bars once since I brought this thing home 4 months ago. I had the earlier Panasonic 900mgz phone for almost 9 years and replaced the battery once... I don't think this is an issue of me not understanding how to get the most out of a battery). The other thing that is frustrating is that the buttons are so sensitive and make it impossible to avoid accidentally activating the phone... which I'm sure is a major cause of battery drainage. All in all I'm pretty satisfied with this phone in spite of it's shortfalls. 4 stars is probably more than it deserves, but I would argue, it's certainly better than a 3.
28 Poor battery charger
I purchased this phone for my home office. I have replaced the battery twice in 6 months and, according to the place of purchase, the battery should last 1-2 years. I have a much older Panasonic with speakerphone for my home and have never had to replace the battery. In this phone, it slowly provides less and less time between charges until you can only speak on the handheld for about 30 minutes before it dies completely. Panasonic has told me to send it in for a new one, which I plan to do. But, that is very inconvenient. The other features work fine when the battery is fresh, but the battery charger is a deal-breaker.
29 Best phone Yet
I just purchased this phone a few months ago and it has worked great. The answering maching works better then any other one i have ever had and it allows you to check your messages when you are not home. The caller ID works everytime although sometimes it will say "out of area". The range on the phone is incredible, I can walk down my street with it and the words are still loud and clear, although i do live on a very short street. The earpiece on the handset is louder then on any other cordless phone i hvae had, and it also allows you to check your massages from your handset. I also like how you can add up to 8 handsets and you dnt have to plug them into phone jack, only a power outlet. Also, within the handsets you also have an intercom system so u can get someones attention onthe other side of the house. With the battery on the phone, it is like a 50/50 chance that you will get a good battery. I bought the phone in radio shack and got a phone with a lousy battery. I brought it back and they gave me a replacement which made the phone the phone great.
30 great features buy lousy battery life
This phone as all the right features, but runs out of battery life in about 20-30 minutes, I have a base station and 3 extensions, and go through all three batteries, and than forced to talk on the speakphone untill the batteries get recharged the next day.
what features it's missing:
Voice dailing - if we can have it on our cell phones, why not on a cordless.
voice announcement - just saw this demostrated on another panasonic model. it'll verbally annouce a caller. very cool. not a requirement, but definitely very cool.
31 Poor quality for the price
We have a 6 year old digital answering machine from Panasonic that sounds better than the one on this unit. We have a $20 speaker phone that sounds better than the one on this unit. The speaker phone on either the handset or the base unit are useless - your mouth has to be so close to the microphone for you to be heard that you need to be holding it anyway - though you can hear just fine with it. But if you have to be within a foot of the thing you might as well be holding it.
We had to replace the first one of these we got. There were a multitude of problems that didn't show up until the second day we had it plugged in... couldn't dial out, couldn't be heard using either base or handset, couldn't use the speakerphone on the base, etc. We phoned Panasonic to ask for some help and they told us they'd send us a refurbished one or we could send this one in for repairs. We told them that we didn't want a refurbished one, we paid for a new one and expect to get one that works and they said, "sorry, talk to the vendor." Which we did. Amazon immediately replaced it, no questions asked (they even sent the replacement 2nd day air). The replacement definitely works better, but also it was clear it had been taken out of the box - not sure if it's a refurbished or just a recycled return.
On the plus side, the handset seems clear enough when you hold it to your head. We weren't worried about the complaints about the battery not lasting long because we tend to leave our phones on the charger anyway. Overall though, we're pretty disheartened with Panasonic (there's a group of engineers who should be hanging their heads in shame after putting out this flakey product)... and not at all happy with the state of "expandable phone systems" in general.
32 Feature packed, but...
This phone offers great features and is easy to use, but the battery life is terrible. I am on my second phone and plan on returning it to exchange it for another brand. Had a problem with the battery coming loose in the handset which causes the phone to think a fully charged battery needs recharging after 20 minutes of use. Manufacturer offered a solution, but did not solve the problem.
33 Great phone with horrible battery life
The phone works well an has many nice features, however, the battery life makes the phone unusable. I frequently have to call people back from my cell phone because the battery on the cordless unit has run dry. Talk time for the phone is literally <30 minutes without using the booster feature. Works fine as an answering machine.
34 Bad quality great features
If you do not mind constant problems, then this is the phone for you! I loved this phone at first but within the first couple of months it "turned" on us. Things just started not working. Panasonic is NOT interested in correcting the problem even though the consumer is the one who must pay to send the product back to the service center. There are reviews all over the Amazon site that give a true picture of what this phone is all about. It really is a great phone on paper and apparently cordless phone technology just cannot catch up with cell phones. They really have a LOT of bugs to get out of the systems.
Do yourself a favor, get a cheap cordless phone/answering machine. At least when it fails, you will not be out as much money as this unit costs and you will probably get better quality and most of the features that you want.
35 This is an aweful phone
Bought this phone as a result of trying 2 different Panasonic 900 MHz phones (which were both poor quality). I thought I was just having a problem with the range and wanted to try the next up in MHz. BAD IDEA. Panasonic has come up with a seemingly ideal phone with some great looking features but they have no idea of how to build a phone that will work or customer service that will properly address the issue. They continue to sell this phone in spite of very poor craftsmanship.
-Very bad battery life (sorry to say that it will NOT last more than 20 minutes)
-Very bad sound quality
-Very bad customer service
-Very high price
My parents have the same phone and have had the EXACT same problems as have I and 90% of the reviewers, keep reading if you do not believe me.
36 I'll never buy panasonic again
I got this phone because my first panasonic cordless phone was such a lemon, they gave me this one as a trade in on the warranty. This model is even WORSE. After just a few weeks, and two, yes two, new batteries later, the phone holds a charge for maybe 20 minutes, then needs to be recharged for at least 12 hours before it can be used again. If you like frustration, and paying a lot of money for a piece of garbage, then this is the phone for you...
37 Panasonic vs VTech
I read many of the reviews here and at several other locations regarding the VTech VT2461 and the Panasonic KX-TG2730S and the camps seemed to be very divided. You loved one and hated the other. So I took a chance, and bought them both! My plan was to figure out which one was better and return the other. For me, the VTech is on it's way back. It is not that I didn't like the phone, I just think in my side-by-side one week test, the Panasonic is better.
The VTech is less substancial than the Panasonic and just seemed less well built and the answering machine was harder to understand than the Panasonic. However, I did not have any of the "white noise" issues I read about but that could be because I live in a pretty rural area with little interference. The hand unit is much smaller than the Panasonic, which I found with 2 kids made it easier to lose, also the speaker was in a funny location and I had to position it on my ear in an uncomfortable location. The phone is very modern looking and seemed more at home in a contemporary, chrome New York apartment than my country kitchen. I will admit that it is very easy to set up but not quite what this red-neck was looking for in features, feel and functionality.
Which leads me to the Panasonic KX-TG2730S. Very nice phone! The set up was a little more time consuming but worth the investment. The reception and sound is great and after 2 weeks, I still have not had to recharge the phone. What battery problem? The first time I lost a bar on the battery indicator was when I programmed 50 telephone numbers into the handset after using it for 3 days. Now don't think I took it easy on this phone, I alternated between it and the VTech for incoming and outgoing calls and we make and receive lots of calls at my house.
So to recap, the VTech is a good phone but not what I would call a family phone it is less rugged, easier to lose, and the sound on the answering machine too digital and harder to understand, and the look is too modern. I did not notice the "white noise" problem on this phone.
The Panasonic was the full featured phone I was looking for that met my needs and my families needs. So if you are considering these two phones, I hope this helps
38 Great phone, terrible battery
I've owned Sony, Uniden, and Panasonic wireless phones. This model has wonderful and reliable features. The base and handset are intuitive to use and reliable. BUT, the battery on this phone is awful. It held a reasonable charge for the first few months, but now requires charging every other to every third day with minimal usage. On any call over 30 minutes the battery charge is undependable.
Hard to believe that such a quality phone comes with such a poor battery system. Read the other reviews, this is not an isolated problem. Panasonic has done, and could do better. Are they listening?
Buy the phone if you like the features, but buy replacement batteries at the same time - you'll need them!
39 Great and Not-So-Great
Bought this for the features, appearance and ability to intercom between handsets (wonderful feature with kids). Some of the features are excellent . . . the design is good, buttons are easy to hit, base is easy to work. However, the Caller ID is EXTREMELY unreliable - it takes 3-4 rings to show up. Also, battery life is unpredictable. And, a little petty issue, the answering machine takes a long time to get to messages (if you like to hit the button and go right to the messages this is not the phone for you). If you are someone who puts your phone on the base each night to charge - and doesn't rely heavily on caller ID - it's a great phone. But, based on the Caller ID and battery life - I wouldn't buy it again. Should have stuck with the tried and true AT&T or Sony phones!
40 The worst model I have ever seen!
I have had this KX-TG2730S model over three months now and everything worked fine until 2 months ago! The first problem
started with battery life. It wouldn’t hold the charge for more than 45 minutes of talk time. Then I started noticing ( 5 weeks after I purchased the phone) that caller ID would take 3 maybe 4 rings to show me the number. And finally a week ago the answering machine started to complain that its message box is full. The problem is that I never had (and still don’t have) any messages. So I my voice-mail box can’t record any messages. This phone does not have any special batteries to hold messages! It’s one the new designs where messages get stored in a special memory chip. And trust me, the only option for me is to send it back to Panasonic. I just got of the phone with them and, yap, they will send me another refurbished one. I am NOT thrilled at all !!! Just disappointed that I purchased Panasonic in the first place!
41 THIS PHONE SUCKS!!!
The caller ID is so unpredictable. Sometimes it just shows the phone number but not the name and other times it only says incoming call.
The battery life is not good at all. You can't over charge the phone.
I do not recomend this phone.
42 great
What ever you have read before just disregaurd it. I have had this phone for 2 months now and the CID has always registered on the second ring. I have left the phone off the base unit and have had no batteries going dead. i have a panasonic splash proff and the same goes for that. Its just one great phone. Panasonic has come up with a great system here and because certain people cry because it dont meet their every demand complain. All I can say is just let them find a better phone then this and post it here. If you want a phone that lives up to its name then shop no longer then this phone. In most places you have 30 days to return it and believe me you wont return this phone for any reason unless your a total jerk
43 Battery is lame
5 stars for the phone. 1/2 star for the battery life.
Like several other people, I found the battery life to be extremely short. So I bought a new battery through radioshack.com and that battery seems a bit better, but still way too short a charge life compared to my Sony, which will last days, even with long talk times.
Select a different brand if you aren't going to keep the handset on the charger all the time.
44 Really, really, read the reviews......
BATTERY problem not a fluke! It dies after 30 minutes of continual use. It didn't when we first received it, but after a month, we now get a familiar, beep...beep...needs charging. We also have a voice mail box and the light doesn't blink when a message is dumped into our voice mail. (it does for the answering machine). This could be the phone company but I've went round and round with them. We were looking for a phone that contained it all and this is it, but everything needs to work well, also. For the price, I expected a better product.
45 Terrible phone
This phone has one BIG flaw: It can't hold a charge for more than 1/2 hour.
46 Battery life = lifespan of a fly
Great phone if the battery doesn't die. But it does, quickly, and no matter how long it sits on the charger. If Panasonic could fix the battery problem, the phone would be perfect. Until then, chose another phone.
47 great till it dies on you
Okay, did a lot of research, read the reviews and finally bought this phone. seemed great... looks fab, killer range, excellent answering machine, cool ring tones, speakerphone on base. wait... i use that one a little too much! know why? 'cause the battery on the handset dies after about 30 minutes of continuous use. it'll just drop your call. and when you are on an important business conference call, and ya gotta sheepishly call back using the base speakerphone... THAT'S NO GOOD. had to plug in my circa 1978 pacific bell "earthquake phone" to phone back and complete the call. admission... i read about the battery problems somewhere on this site before i bought it, but thought it was just a case of a lemon. no way. it's endemic.
48 great till it dies on you
Okay, did a lot of research, read the reviews and finally bought this phone. seemed great... looks fab, killer range, excellent answering machine, cool ring tones, speakerphone on base. wait... i use that one a little too much! know why? 'cause the battery on the handset dies after about 30 minutes of continuous use. it'll just drop your call. and when you are on an important business conference call, and ya gotta sheepishly call back using the base speakerphone... THAT'S NO GOOD. had to plug in my circa 1978 pacific bell "earthquake phone" to phone back and complete the call. admission... i read about the battery problems somewhere on this site before i bought it, but thought it was just a case of a lemon. no way. it's endemic.
49 Panasonic Simplicity!
I recently purchased this answering system along with two Panasonic KX-TGA272S 2.4 GHz Cordless Expandable Handsets with Caller ID and Alarm Clock and five Panasonic KX-TGA271W 2.4GHz Expandable Handsets. I like the feature that allows the base system to expand to accommodate eight phones. The multiple functions, and there are many, are easy to use and the phone is very simple to program. My only complaints are that one cannot monitor incoming calls and the battery life is anemic. Even though all the phones have caller ID I would still prefer to be able to monitor incoming calls. This is a terrific system for those who need phones in multiple rooms but do not want additional phone jacks iinstalled.
50 Best phone on the market
This phone is the best there is...all the features you want and more...and its clear as a bell. No problems with wireless networks either. It costs the most but its worth it just not to have to return all the other junk phones out there.
51 Good features but extremely poor battery life
Initial overall impression of this phone was good. Good sound quality, relatively easy set-up and excellent features. My only complaint on the features is that there is no audible alert for messages.
Unfortunately, the phone does not work as advertised for more than 4 weeks. I purchased the extra handset and both exhibited the same behavior. If you try to access your messages remotely using the handset speakerphone, the phone makes a loud click and then the display goes dead and the phone stops working. You then need to place the phone in the charger for 12 - 24 hours to get it to work again. This happens even if the phone is fully charged. Also, battery life is extremely limited for normal handset use. Do not expect to be able to use this phone for more than 15 minutes before you need to charge the handset.
Overall, I have to say that this phone is badly designed, is defective and does not operate per its specifications. For the money, $175 plus $85 for the additional handset, I expect a product that works. I will not purchase a Panasonic phone again.
52 Good Phone, but the basics don't work
This is a great phone. It has excellent features (on paper), the range is very good, and the battery charge life is okay (could be better though) - why could they not provide Ni-Mn batteries like the additional handset come with ? Oh well...
The problem I have had - the Caller Id just says 'Incoming Call' 90 percent of the time. What use is that ? Don't we know that already ? I exchanged the phone for another unit - same problem.
Tried calling Panasonic's Customer support number for 4 days but I could not get anything but a busy tone. In the meantime, emailed them with my problem and my inability to reach the 'Customer Support' line. Reply comes back after 5 days - 'Call the Customer Support Line'. Guess noone bothers reading emails.
So finally manage to get through - and they say send it back to them. Have spent time and money (not to mention the headaches)on a phone that's over a 100 bucks, I'm still waiting for a response or a phone from Panasonic.
My advice - If you want to buy any Panasonic product, research the product (ask someone who HAS it). Then, buy it, preferably from a vendor where returns are easy and shipping free :), and forget that Panasonic HAS any customer service - either on the phone, or online.
Good Luck.
*****UPDATE****
After the replacement phone had the same problem, I got it re-replaced ;) and presto - same problem - intermittent caller id. I called Panasonic Customer Service to give them an earful - and finally got through to a rep who suggested that I try to change the setting for "Flash Time" (Page 61 in the User Manual) from 700 ms to a lower number. After changing it to 400 ms, I now seem to be getting the Caller Id All the Time.
Those of you who have this problem with Caller-Id saying "Incoming Call" please change this setting.
Hope that helped. Based on this I am changing my rating to 4 stars (even considering the battery life issue) :)
53 Great phone!!!
Great reception everywhere in the house. Not a bit of static or buzz. There are even more features to this phone than listed. With the additional handsets, there is a 2-way radio option, room monitor, intercom, call transfering between extentions, individual rings, call hold...the list goes on. The base is a separate extention. The phones have a nice sturdy feel/weight. I did a lot of research on the internet before purchasing this phone. Most reviews raved about this phone and they were all right. I couldn't be any happier with my purchase.
54 Great phone with features galore; complex programming
An excellent multi-telephone system with quality signal strength. The signal is very clear, especially when contrasted with a competing answering maching from Vtech that has background noise during all calls. The instruction manual is somewhat confusing,(are you programming the handset or the base unit for each feature?) since there are so many settings to program, but once you figure it all out, you have a useful telephone with all the bells and whistles you might wish.
55 It is not only a waste of money
but also a waste of your energy. After spending on this seemingly high-tech phone we anxiously waited 17 hours before removing it from the base... Then we were really excited about the sound quality--- it is nice, indeed.
However, very quickly we found that what others had been complaining was true--- the caller id display says 'incoming call' even after the third ring. My 20 dollar caller id box says it is from my cell phone but this POJ doesn't.
I still like my big old 900MHz Panasonic but not this NEW breed.
56 LEMON product
This is the most disappointing purchase I have ever made. I expected a lot for the money - at the very least, for the phone to work. I bought the 2nd handset for this, and both of them behave the same way. The charger does not work - after being on the cradle for 24 hrs, the phone indicates to put it back on the cradle - cannot talk. On a good day, I can talk on either handset for 10 minutes before it dies with little warning. While sitting right next to the base, the phone indicates to get closer to base. I live in a shoebox apartment, so there shouldn't be a case of being too far from the base. The caller ID doesn't work - we hardly EVER get an actual name or number - just "outside caller". Customer Service indicates 7 minutes to answer, but what the automated voice really means is "never" or in an hour. This phone could have a lot of potential (based on all of the other cool features) but the most important features are LEMONS. I feel ripped off.
57 Review
I bought this phone and everything worked except the CALLER ID function so I returned the phone because I was frustrated. All my other phones in the house are caller id and this phone seemed to have problems registering the caller id. I called up Panasonic's tech support and their tech support phone line was always busy and I could not get a hold of them. I also saw about 4 of these phones being returned at a local retail store.
58 High Quality Phone
I like it very much. However, the displayed screen on the based unit is rather small. I bought the KX-TG2740 model for my parents because it has a larger area display on the base. I like the speaker phone which allowed me to talk within 4ft with crystal clear quality. It also has the speaker phone on the handset too which allowed me to move about without carrying the base with me. It would be perfect if it could be louder. Overall It is the best phone that I have ever bought.
59 Generally a disappointment
I had high hopes for this phone, especially considering its hefty price tag. While the sound quality is generally good, it suffers some serious defects.
First of all, although I followed the manufacturer's battery conditioning recommendations, battery life is poor compared to my 7 year old 900Mhz Sony. I can nary get the phone to display more than one bar of battery life on the handheld screen.
More importantly, the speakerphone capability on the handset ceased functioning 35 days after I purchased the unit. Beyond that, the phone looks cheap and feels flimsy, and I find the user interface on the handheld quite awkward.
All in all, I recommend that you consider alternative products.
60 The worst cordless Panasonic ever produced!
I am a Panasonic fan when it comes to cordless phones. I have used over ten Panasonics over the years since the introduction of cordless phone. I purchased this because of the reputation Panasonic had build on me. But I was wrong! This Phone is not a "Panasonic". I can barely hear the other party-I don't have any hearing problem-even at full level of volume. if I connect it to a headset there is a hum. My friends ask me if I am in propeller plane. The biggest disappointment is the battery. You won't believe this, but, this phone needs to be charged every 2 days. I don't use this phone at all (because of above reasons) but the battery goes COMPLETELY EMPTY IN 2 DAYS.
Don't waist your money, this phone is useless!
I have no idea why some people have left positive feedback on this!
61 Looking for great features & Long Range? This is It!
I've had a cordless phone in one incarnation or another since the late 70's/early 80's, and this phone is by far the most superior in almost every way. Let's get down to the important features:
1. Range---I just returned 2 V-Tech 2.4Ghz phones for their incredible lack of range. My new Panasonic has a good signal over 300 feet away from the base. My V-tech, a dismal 50 feet.
2. Sound quality---this phone has no static, and the sound quality of the receiver and the digital answering machine are great.
3. Ease of Use---all the buttons look intimidating at first, but this phone helps walk you through the more daunting tasks, and was easy to set up the directory on the handset. Speaking of which, a feature you'll absolutely love if you add additional handsets---the ability to transfer your directory from one phone to the next in seconds! Way cool!
4. Expandability--this system allows you to add up to 8 phones. And each phone can be programmed to be a room monitor, a great feature if you can't figure out why no one answers from the family room (because the tv is too loud), or to listen in on the baby's room.
5. Customizable--the phones can be customized by color (you can buy 3 different colors of handsets), and each handset has 6 different ringer styles (one very cool two tone ring that is very quiet and nice for a bedroom).
Bottom line, this is the best phone system I've ever had. Comparable in price to the V-Tech line, but with much better quality throughout! Only gripe---it needs battery backup on the main unit during a power outage. Otherwise, great job Panasonic!
62 Poor Battery, strange Caller ID
After waiting for Panasonic to come up with it's own "non V-Tech" expandable phone system, I was excited when this model showed up on the shelves this Summer. I purchased it along with an extra headset. The sound quality was excellent, and the features were nice, but I returned it because the battery didn't hold a charge. After being on "standby" for 10 hours, both handsets went from 3 bars (fully charged) to one bar (needs recharging). My old analog 900mhz Panasonic stayed fully charged for four-to-five days. Sure, I could keep the handset in the charger at all times, but who does that?
Also, the caller-ID was very slow to post the name/number on the display. After the 2nd ring, "incoming call" would still appear. Frustrating. Another annoying thing was the inabilty to auto-dial multiple numbers from the handset. This is needed if you have a pre-paid calling card. Because the maxium numbers you can auto-dial is 22, it is impossible to do this.
63 Old technology
This is a new model. But for some reason its a US model. In Asia and Europe they have a new standard called DECT. Panasonic have a line of DECT phones which sound better, range better and look better than this line.
I have no idea why these are not available in the US of A. Consumers: don't buy this old technology models.
64 Great phone, one big flaw for us
We love this phone (2730 model) but we have now had to return two base units/main handsets and may have to give up on it. All of the excellent features are as described by others below -- clear menus, easy to use, good sound and range, easy speakerphone mute, excellent intercom feature between handsets. First rate phone with typical Panasonic thoughtfulness in several areas.
However, the Caller ID feature, which is essential for our family, only worked intermittently on both units -- typically on only 1/2 to 2/3 of the calls (even from the same outside number). When CID is not working the handset display just says "Incoming Call". It wasn't line noise or a particular jack -- what made this most frustrating for us is that we have several other phones (including other Panansonic corded and cordless phones) on which the Caller ID always works just fine. Nothing has fixed the problem with the 2730, from changing units, to changing jacks, to disconnecting all the old phones, etc. If this apparent problem was licked, this would be an ideal high end cordless phone.
65 What I have been waiting for
Just got this phone over the weekend. I was ready to buy the Siemens, but after reading the reviews I decided to go with this Panasonic instead. It has everything I need and (so far) works very well with excellent range. I bought the base plus two extra handsets, including the alarm clock version.
Likes:
1. Very easy to use. I was surprised by the LCD prompts, which are very useful. My ten year old already can transfer calls and use the voicemail.
2. Three voicemail boxes.
3. Ability to transfer a caller into voicemail. If you have trouble getting messages from family members this is the phone for you.
4. Intercom and room monitor features.
5. Program your fifty number memory and then transfer them to each of your handsets automatically.
6. Speakerphone on each handset.
Dislikes:
1. The ringers could be a little louder.
2. While I like silver, white and neon blue as much as the next person, I would like a more subdued color choice in my phones.
Regards.
66 Not what I expected!
At [$$$] Panasonic ships this product with NiCd battery and doesn't have a built-in charger for a spare battery in base.
If you charge a partially charged NiCd battery it would gradually
loose its maximum charge (memory effect).
Though its not as cute as the Siemens Gigaset 4215 model it has
loads of features (more than most people need).
Ask yourself the following question :
Would I need to have 8 handsets? If answer is NO I would suggest
look elsewhere.
67 Cool Phone + Work Around for Handset Call Screening
I currently own the KX-TG2000B, panasonic's previous attempt at a business/soho phone that was too businessee and had sound issues. I've been testing this one for a while and it rocks.
If you are used to being able to call screen from your handset (a feature we sorely missed on the TG2000B), here is a work around.
Set the base to allow room monitoring. When the phone rings, use a handset to monitor the base (extension 0, not 1 which is the handset associated with the base). You can hear the caller and then press the line 1 button to get them online or ignore the call. The trick is you must press the keys for monitoring while your answering machine message is being hear. This is AFTER the phone has stopped ringing, but before the person starts leaving a message. We have added several seconds of silence to the end of our outgoing message to ensure we can monitor in this manner. If you have caller id this may not be an issue - however, many caller id numbers are not recognizable if you are getting a return call from a business or have family that has private number or don't feel like paying [price] per year to have the feature.
68 This phone has two mute buttons!
Kamal M is wrong. This phone has two mute buttons. One on the base unit for its speakerphone and one on each handset (accessible by pressing a single "soft key" button which appears on the LCD when a call is in progress). There is not a single feature in the ATT2255 that this phone does not have (except the fact that the number of new messages is illuminated on the base unit on the ATT2255 and on the Panasonic it's just a regular LCD; however, the Phanasonic allows you to check your messages throught the handsets which are backlit).
69 This is the phone for the busy and the true phone lover
This phone is great (and NOTE: "THERE IS A MUTE BUTTON, IT'S A DIGITAL FUNCTION ON THE HANDSET" contrary to and earlier report)
It intergrates 2.4 GHz cordless phone technology with some of the convenient features of the cellular phone. With a 50 number directory and cell phone-like menu options, Panasonic has outdone this former Uniden customer.
There are 8 different types of handsets that can be registered with the main base with functions ranging from intercoms to alarm clocks Caller ID w/Call Waiting. It's redial memory exceeds the traditional 3 number memory. The previously mentioned 50 number directory stores phone numbers plus whatever extensions and add-on numbers you could ever have to dial (ie. codes, extension numbers, etc. I personally have nine digits to dial after having dialed 10 already). It has saved me soo much time.
It also comes in the savvy colors of silver and blue (two of my personal favorites). The phone not only looks good, it actually performs! Way better than the transparent promises of the Siemen's 4215 2.4 GHz model which I almost threw out of the window for the aggrevating clicking noises and non-functional handset capabilities!
Another bonus of the Panasonic is it's speaker phone capabilities on the base as well as the handset. The base also features 3 mailboxes and a fully functional keypad. This phone is too smart for it's good. I'll be checking out the comprable Uniden TRU-4485 soon. But for now, I'm in love with the Panasonic KX-TG2730S.
But don't take my word, go to Circuit City and LOOK at the phone. You'll never know fo you like a phone until you try it out and see if it has the features that will complement YOUR lifestyle. This one surely complements my busy lifestyle!
70 This is the phone for the busy and the true phone lover
This phone is great (and NOTE: "THERE IS A MUTE BUTTON, IT'S A DIGITAL FUNCTION ON THE HANDSET" contrary to and earlier report)
It intergrates 2.4 GHz cordless phone technology with some of the convenient features of the cellular phone. With a 50 number directory and cell phone-like menu options, Panasonic has outdone this former Uniden customer.
There are 8 different types of handsets that can be registered with the main base with functions ranging from intercoms to alarm clocks Caller ID w/Call Waiting. It's redial memory exceeds the traditional 3 number memory. The previously mentioned 50 number directory stores phone numbers plus whatever extensions and add-on numbers you could ever have to dial (ie. codes, extension numbers, etc. I personally have nine digits to dial after having dialed 10 already). It has saved me soo much time.
It also comes in the savvy colors of silver and blue (two of my personal favorites). The phone not only looks good, it actually performs! Way better than the transparent promises of the Siemen's 4215 2.4 GHz model which I almost threw out of the window for the aggrevating clicking noises and non-functional handset capabilities!
Another bonus of the Panasonic is it's speaker phone capabilities on the base as well as the handset. The base also features 3 mailboxes and a fully functional keypad. This phone is too smart for it's good. I'll be checking out the comprable Uniden TRU-4485 soon. But for now, I'm in love with the Panasonic KX-TG2730S.
But don't take my word, go to Circuit City and LOOK at the phone. You'll never know fo you like a phone until you try it out and see if it has the features that will complement YOUR lifestyle. This one surely complements my busy lifestyle!
71 I can't believe there is no mute on this phone
With conference facility etc, I find it hard to belive there is no mute on this phone. I use the mute geature a lot for conf calls and I think ATT 2255 is a better model with mute.
72 Great phone
This is a great phone. Even if you don't plan on buying additional handsets, the multitude of features in this Panasonic make it a great buy. It has great batterylife and range (a "Booster" feature is included that will extend the range and improve clarity even further at the expense of using a little extra battery power). Sound quality is also very good, and speakerphone on the base and handset are very useful.
Another great feature is the room monitor, which allows the user to listen to what is going on in a room in which a headset or base is located from another headset or the base.
The answering machine mailboxes can be checked from each handset and not just the base (in fact, pretty much everything can be done from headsets since the phone was made to operate with up to 8 handsets). Additionally, if you have 2 or more handsets you can use them as 2-way radios even if the base is out of range. All in all, a great phone in which I have not yet found any flaws (I have been using it for 3 weeks).
P.S.: This phone is much much better than the AT&T 2255, which went back to the store for its dismal range and lack of features.
73 Finally, an 8-phone system at a reasonable price
I have been using Panasonic phones for a long time. They are very good quality both in voice and build. I recently moved to a 4-bedroom house from an apartment. Getting phones in different places in the house was really tough especially when there are no phone outlets in all the places that I want a phone. Another problem is that they can't share the same phone directory. I was going to get other multi-handset systems like Siemens, Vtech, or the old Panasonic system. However, they only allow up to 4 phones. When I first saw that this can expand up to 8 phones, it just fits my bill! The price is right and the quality is again superb. I only got the base for now and can't wait to get the other supplement phones. Unlike competitors, the supplement phones have different varieties to choose from.
The only complain (minor) is that the base does not have a headset jack. Other than that, this is a great phone! It might not be as sytlish as the Siemens system. But for the price and expandability, this is the way to go. Highly recommended.
74 Finally, an 8-phone system at a reasonable price
I have been using Panasonic phones for a long time. They are very good quality both in voice and build. I recently moved to a 4-bedroom house from an apartment. Getting phones in different places in the house was really tough especially when there are no phone outlets in all the places that I want a phone. Another problem is that they can't share the same phone directory. I was going to get other multi-handset systems like Siemens, Vtech, or the old Panasonic system. However, they only allow up to 4 phones. When I first saw that this can expand up to 8 phones, it just fits my bill! The price is right and the quality is again superb. I only got the base for now and can't wait to get the other supplement phones. Unlike competitors, the supplement phones have different varieties to choose from.
The only complain (minor) is that the base does not have a headset jack. Other than that, this is a great phone! It might not be as sytlish as the Siemens system. But for the price and expandability, this is the way to go. Highly recommended.
