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.
1 I wish I had read these reviews before I spent the MONEY!!!!
It seems as though most of the people that wrote a review have the same exact problem that I have had with our phone... I researched this purchase thoroughly, and felt that even though it was very expensive, it had all the things we needed in a phone for our home. Soon after setting it up (within 3 months of purchase) we began having problems with the phone keeping a charge. We were going to buy a new battery, but decided to call panasonic customer service to see if they had any information about it. Pat answers... the said that they would send us a new battery and that should solve the problem. We waited and waited and waited, no battery came so we called and called and called...now we had to leave our information on a service and someone would get back to us, no one did.... still no battery!!! I couldn't believe it and I was so sick of the situation I went online to see if I could get some answers there... I was sure there had to be some type of recall or something, I mean this thing didn't work! Within 24 hours a tech emailed me back saying that I should send the unit back to Panasonic and they would check it out, if there was a problem they would send me a new (refurbished) unit, since it was under warranty (covered for the first year, which if you think about it is really rediculous, shouldn't it work for at least a few years?) I decided to send it in. I had to pay to send it to Texas, and there was a problem, (I was relieved, at least there was something they could do about it!) so they sent me a whole new system (refurbished!)... the new (refurbished!) unit only comes with a 90 day warranty, which is about how long it took for the problems to arise again... within a few months, the phone began to cut out after about 20 minutes of use, and now, it barely holds a charge for more than a few minutes... I have also had the same problem with the display saying to move closer to base, when I have been standing right in front of it... so basically it is worthless... the worst part? I still need a phone and this is the only one that has all the options we need... so I called Panasonic and I emailed them too, they said that for a charge (not cheap) they will look at it and see what is wrong.... etc, basically the same thing as before, are they kidding? I won't be buying from Panasonic ever again... I was pissed off before when it was just my phone, but knowing that so many people are having the exact same problem really is aggravating. I can't believe that they do not stand byt their product and I have no confidence in their company as a result. I will never, ever buy from Panasonic again!!
I wouldn't if I were you either!
2 Nice features, terrible battery, quality problems
Had this phone for 1.5 years. Like features, i.e. directory that can be shared and sent across the base unit and a handset or ability to correct a number before dialing it (like in a cell phone).
From the very beginning battery life was a problem. It was around 1-1.5 hour talk time. Do not even think about having a conference call with this phone. It got worse and worse and currently I get ~30-40 min. talk time after charging for more than a day. My very old 900MHz Uniden gives me around 5-6 hours of talk time.
Sometime after using a phone for ~6 months LCD display on the handset started failing when the battery is fully charged. After talking on the phone for a few minutes display starts working again. The problem is that you need display when you are dialing.
The sound quality is OK. It is not better than analog 900Mhz Uniden but not worse.
I was pleasantly surprised than I do not get any interference with WiFi 802.11 B/G network.
Very disappointed in quality of implementation even though like features in this 2-line phone.
3 GREAT PHONE SYSTEM, one MAJOR failing
I love it, but- today I discovered, you cannot change the outgoing (greeting) messaging from remote access.
I needed to put in a temp message, and it's just not possible from anywhere but at the base/at home...
4 Bad batteries small display
Worked (OK) for a couple months. Batteries got progressively short charge. Display is so small and poorly lit. Tried to contact tech support - no response. Hard to find a good pickle!
5 Maybe I was just lucky, but this just works
I have had this system in place for nearly two years of daily use. I'm sure these other folks have had the problems they say they have, but I can't echo any of them.
1) All my phone handsets (3 270S,2 272,1 270purple) all still have the same battery they started with rangng in age from the original handset (almost 2 years) to just over six months.
2) Range, for me, hasn't been a problem. I can talk anywhere in a 4000 sq foot single level wood construction house.
3) Sound quality has been much better than the Siemens I replaced, and definitely acceptable.
4) Answering function: Well I don't even have to think about it.
5) In the interests of full disclosure, I have had one handset fail. I cheaped out and bought a 270S on ebay. Worked for about a month and then the LCD died. The phone otherwise worked perfectly. I sent it to Panasonic for repair, and nearly stroked when they sent me an estimate HIGHER than the cost of a new handset at Circuit City(plus shipping).
Why am I doing well with the system? Here's what I do:
The base is on top of my entertainment center, which I guess helps range, but was really intended to keep the rug rats from playing with it. I do actually follow the instructions to let the battery charge before use-not saying everyone else doesn't-just that I always do and have (so far) had no problems.
Beyond that, well maybe just dumb luck. Maybe I just got the good battery....7 times over two years, and maybe I got the one good base, and maybe I just have a particularly radiotransparent house. Or maybe.....
I really have only good things to say, and I recommend the system.
6 Lots of features-Poor range and batteries
This phone has a lot of features. It means well but fails in execution. The range is not all that good and the battery performance is dreadful.
7 Worst experience with this crap
Bought the phone and 2 handsets. Same battery problems as everybody. The battery lasts only for a 30min call or something. But the worst is here:
Often this sh.t dies and the display shows "NO LINK TO BASE. WALK CLOSER AND TRY AGAIN" even if you are NEAR the base.
Other problem:
Only one "low battery warning" beep...so if it sounds you have to run to get the other handset or you will lose the call.
I said I'll never buy any other Panasonic TV but with this I WONT BUY ANY OTHER PANASONIC DEVICE
8 excellent phone (with er-p511 nimh battery)
after reading reviews re poor ni-cad battery performance and resulting handset-blank-screen artifacts, i simultaneously purchased this phone and an energizer er-p511 nimh battery (from vh1shop.vh1.com for $9.99). the result is an excellent phone. with the energizer nimh battery, talk time is hours and standby time is days. all you folks experiencing poor battery performance and blank screens or loss of signal between handset and base because your batteries are performing poorly, go get the energizer nimh battery and start enjoying your phone.
i also bought an additional white handset (kx-tga271w). this version of the separate handset comes with a nimh battery included -- go figure. i have no idea why panasonic ships the original phone with the garbage ni-cad battery.
i only looked at panasonic cordless phones with two antennas on the base unit when shopping this time because of my previous experience.
previous experience: about 5 years ago i tested about 10 cordless phones in my house, taking every one back because they all performed lousy, most with an annoying echo resulting from interference of signals between handset and base units. the panasonic two-antenna models transmit to the handset on one frequency and receive on a different frequency, thus avoiding interference effects. the result is the cleanest and clearest sound you will get with a cordless phone. so do like i did when shopping this time: don't look at any cordless phones except the panasonics with two antennas on the base unit.
i have noticed two weird things -- both may be quirks related to odd testing conditions, so i still give this phone 5 stars, as i'm not convinced these are real problems. i list them here only in case others encounter these oddities so they can see my solutions. hopefully they will work for you too.
1. echo on line 2: i noticed that every call from line 2 was echoing when i spoke. i unplugged line 2's telephone wire while speaking (to my office answering machine) on line 2. when plugging line 2 back in, i got a dial tone, and the echo is gone. i suspect the problem was faulty connection of the telephone-wire contacts. all clear now. no echo.
2. dropped answering-machine (short) messages: i have done tests leaving myself messages on the answering machine. i've noticed that every once in a while (very) short messages (like "test message", then hang up) are not saved. since i noticed this accidentally, i repeated my tests with very short messages. perhaps 10 to 20% never got recorded. i decided this was a stupid test, as how useful is a 2-second message? so i started leaving longer messages (of sensible length). every one of the longer messages has been recorded correctly.
it has been about 5 years since i bought my first panasonic two-antenna phone. back then i gave up on getting a speaker phone, as all the ones i tested (none panasonic) were terrible. this phone's speakerphone performance is excellent. absolutely superb.
bottom line: buy this phone (and the nimh battery from energizer) and don't look back.
9 No more Panasonic in my life
I've read the other reviews and agree with the problems.
To summarize, the batteries are a true problem. I have purchase five other handsets and every one of them have battery problems. After contacting Panasonice, waiting forever on hold, then to be told there is no problem with the batteries and all I needed to do was buy new ones to cure the problem. When I explained they were under warranty and that they should be replaced at no charge, the support person actually told me that I must have a power problem in my house and the batteries would not be covered under warranty due to this. Let's say the phones are being used less and less and I'm out hundreds of dollars and will never forget who never to buy from, Panasonic.
Believe what you read here and let Panasonic buy these phones back from their resellers. No one deserves to be swindled like all of us already have.
There are many good phones that have similar or better features and do not have battery problems ... keep looking!
10 This one is a dud
I've been trying to use this phone for more than a year and it has brought me nothing but grief. Believe what you read in the other reviews here. It needs recharging after just an hour or two of use, and the display frequently conks out. More often than not, the caller ID fails to work. I've called Panasonic customer service frequently, and the staff has been rude and not helpful at all. Staff members act as if no one else is having any problem whatsoever with the phone (although the reviews at amazon.com certainly suggest something to the contrary). Today, was the last straw. The phone conked out and the handset refused to recharge. I finally flung it across the room in a fit of a temper and smashed it into a dozen pieces. Tomorrow, I'm going to take a hammer and smash the base. Yes, I'm going to be out almost $200, but I'm going to get a great deal of satisfaction out of destroying this piece of crap. My advice: Stay away from this phone and Panasonic products in general. Needless to say, I'm in the market for a new cordless phone. Anyone have any suggestions?
11 Fed Up
Other reviews mention the battery life as being the primary problem. My problem has been the display on the handset. Within 2 weeks of usage the handset display is blank making it virtually useless. I'm currently on the 3rd and last attempt, I've phoned Panasonic customer service and they act as if I'm the only one having problem, their of no help what so ever.
Now that I have read the previous reviews I know that this is just a bad phone.
I'm returning this last unit and giving up, even with all the great features, it's not worth the cost or incovenience.
12 Promptly, & Like NEW!
Great $, Prompt delivery, and excellent product. Thank you!
13 Not good at all
Very disappointed with this phone - after about a month, the display died and only comes on once in a blue moon. So much for caller ID. Also, after about 6 months, the battery stopped holding a charge very long. I considered getting another expandable handset, but I ended up buying a different phone.
14 Stop with the Battery Complaints Already
The batteries lasted about a year and a half for me. But don't complain because it's easy to upgrade the batteries buy buying replacements on Ebay. The battery model number is P-P511 and I replaced it with a $10 compatible 1200 mAh that gives me much greater talk time. Other than that, this phone system works like a charm. Stop complaining and upgrade your batteries for a very reasonable price!
15 Do not buy this phone!
I had read the reviews of this phone before I purchased it and I was aware of the problems with the batteries. However, I loved the features and thought it otherwise met my needs perfectly. I decided to give it a try and I bought the regular unit and two additional handsets.
For about the first four months that I owned this phone I loved it. It worked flawlessly and I could talk for over an hour at a time on the batteries. As time went on, the battery life deteriorated to where I could not talk for more than 15 minutes. The speaker phone and intercom features that I initially loved are useless because the batteries NEVER have enough power for them to work. When someone calls in, the caller is often cut off when I try to answer the phone and I have to call them back from my corded phone.
At this point in time, I basically use the phone as a portable Caller I.D. unit to see who is calling, then I walk over to where my corded phone is to answer. I am now faced with the decision of buying new batteries for my handsets and trying again, or throwing the whole thing away and buying something else.
If you are considering this phone, I encourage you to look for something else.
16 Buyer beware...better yet, stay away
I've gradually coming to the conclusion that it's impossible to buy a genuinely high-quality, two-line phone. This particular model makes me want to give up on buying telephones altogether, and revert back to my rotary phone, or two Dixie Cups and a string.
Not only is the sound quality poor, but the batteries are horrible. I have two phones, and the battery life of each one is about 15-20 minutes, tops. I work from home, and by 11 a.m., both phones are usually shot -- forcing me to use my cell phone or, yes, hook up my old rotary phone. I just begrudgingly bought two new batteries: we'll see how they work. I assume they'll be horrible, as is everything else associated with this product.
PS: I know two other people with the same phone system, and they have similar complaints. My system worked well for a little more than a month, and then that was that.
17 DO NOT buy from AMAZON!!
There policies are corrupt especially when you get to the "Amazon Marketplace" where each seller has its own policies. You can find the same prices elsewhere with honest return and exchange policies. Also Try to cancel a purchase 5 minutes after ordering and they will tell you that it is already being shipped! Beware!!
18 Looks Great Works Better
I love my new Panasonic 2 lines. The tone and volume are clear and crisp. Display and function keys easy to read. I will no doubt invest in an additional handset.
Fast delivery!
19 Horrible horrible horrible
We ordered the base unit and two additional handsets, and within a month ALL units had to be returned to Panasonic at our expense.
The basic unit could not be taken off of speaker phone and the displays for the two handsets went blank.
We returned all units to Panasonic only to back refurbished sets, with the additional handsets still having displays which were blank. Panasonic wants us to again send the refurbished handsets back at our expense.
After reading all of the horrible reviews about these units on your site, I just don't know if owning this product is worth all of the trouble. I understand from reading the other reviews that the blank display might be caused from a low battery problem. (Althought the handset shows that the battery is fully charged-and still shows no display.) The tech support at Panasonic never mentioned to me that a low battery would cause a blank display, but the instruction booklet mentioned this in the troubleshooting section of the base unit manual.
So after reading your review site, and the troubleshooting section in the base unit manual, I will order new batteries to see if this fixes the blank display problem on the additional handsets. And who know what caused the base set speakerphone problems.
Still, if I had to do it all over again, I would not buy this product or recommend it to anyone. It has been a time consuming nightmare. A real can of worms.
20 Better then Vtech or Siemens
I bought a Vtech 2 line phone. The handset interface was clunky and there was a reverberating echo. The Siemens was a little better, but I didn't like the handset controls and I still wasn't thrilled with the sound quality.
So far so good with the Panasonic. The sound is perfect, the handset is easy to use. My only disapointment is that there is no headest jack on the base station, and the handset will not work while in the charger, so you must remove the handset from the charger to talk even sitting in front of the base unit.
If I have to replace batteries down the road, so be it. Its worth it to have the right tool for the job.
21 DO NOT BUY THIS PHONE
The phone sounds like a great buy: all sorts of features, and a low price. But it stinks. The handset loses battery life after about 30 minutes.
You also cannot record your answering message through the handset, so it sounds very grainy and unprofessional.
22 Stay away from this phone!
This phone has a lot of great features BUT the battery situation is what makes it a bad investment. The batteries in this phone do not hold a charge . They recommend that you do not put your phone down on the charger until it needs to be recharged otherwise it will lose it's ability to keep a charge. Believe them. I have replaced batteries already and the same thing is happening to the second set. I am looking to replace the whole system with another company. Hundreds of dollars down the drain.
23 Love the Panasonic KX-TG2740
I almost didn't buy this item because of the bad reviews I read on this site. But I ordered it anyway and have to say that I totally love it. It does everything I want and more. I would highly recommend it to anyone!
24 18 months and still running well
I bought this system 18 months ago, because I needed the 2 line capability. loved it. threw out my 2 older cordless phones and got 2 more handsets to expand the 2740 ($70 each, ouch!).
I only gave 4 stars because the NiCD battery is weak and wont last for more then 90 minutes or so. if you use the phone a lot, you should probably consider a NiMH from www.batteries.com or a similar site...
25 NiMH Batteries for your phone
I have had an an old Panasonic cordless for several years and it has been great. Now that I am in the market for a new phone I have been looking to them again. This phone really interests me except for the battery issue. With all the complaining by what I would call an internet savvy crowd (they did post opinions on Amazon) - I decided to due a battery search. Ten seconds on Google yielded an NiMH Battery for this phone at batteries.com. I have also read somewhere else that someone has used this succesfully (I think epinions - not sure). Anyway here it is - model number and all:
Energizer ER-P511 Nickel-Metal Hydride Cordless Phone Battery
for the Panasonic KX-TG2740S
Knowing this I think I am still interested in the phone. I believe most people are satisfied with it if they leave out the battery problems.
26 6 of 7 handsets defective - do not buy!
I purchased a KX-TG2740S with two additional handsets. Within 2 months the LCD displays on all 3 handsets failed. I sent 2 handsets to Panasonic factory service and received 2 refurbished ones in return. The display on both of those did not work at all. I sent all three handsets back and have received two more refurbished ones. The display on one did not work. That's a failure rate of 6 out of 7. Panasonic will not or cannot provide a product that works and will not provide a refund. Terrible product, terrible service.
27 Battery, Battery....
Why can't Panasonic provide a better technology for the battery? They still use NiCd, which has memory issues. Problem w/ NiCd is you should not place the phone in the charger until the battery is fully discharged.
Hello!! What are you supposed to do with the phone? Leave it wobbling on the counter? More important, what phone are you supposed to use while the phone has no charge? The speakerphone is not the answer, Panasonic.
Cell phones had NiCD 10 years ago. They all have Lithium or Nickel metal hydride, which don't have the inherent memory problem that NiCD's have. NiCD's only last for a few months as well.
I did find the KX-TGA271W, which is the expanded handset to match the TG2740. It has a NiMH battery. Too bad you can't place this handset in the base unit of the TG2740!
28 Great Phone system But need to modify battery
The phone system is great. The battery issue surfaced shortly after I got the system-one bas and 2 extensions. if you move the phone around too much it looses battery power-the power just drops to almost zero. The fix was to hard wire the battery. I soldered the battery connections. Once I did this the phones all lasted along time on battery. If I use the speaker phone on the handsets I get over an hour on it. If I use the phones regular method (not speaker phone) I get hours on a charge.
29 If anyone discovers a battery that works please post here!
I would have rated this phone better than one star because I truly like its features and how it fits into my lifestyle. However, everyone here is correct the battery life on the cordless phone make it useless. Absolutely useless. You can still use the answering machine and the speakerphone and of course the two lines, but that's about it. $200 is a lot to pay for a phone that doesn't work. I was a happy Uniden cordless phone owner but needed a two-line phone and had always heard so many great things about Panasonic. With all this I would have rated the phone about a 2 or 3.
However, my opinion has changed after getting the constant run around with Panasonic. I have contacted them by email, internet, phone, etc and continue to get canned answers from associates trained to ignore or pretend there is not this problem. To hear them speak I'm the only one that has ever experienced this issue. I like so many others here, bought mine at Circuit City. I took the first one back for an exchange for poor battery life. The next one I got also has poor battery life, so I bought a new battery and guess what...poor battery life.
The service from Panasonic and their ability to treat my concerns is pathetic. I could give a "you know what" if Panasonic makes the greatest product in the world some day in the future, they have lost this customer for good. I'm exhausted with the process. SO,MY ONLY REQUEST IS NOW, IF ANYONE HAPPENS TO SOLVE THE RIDDLE OF HOW TO GET THIS PHONE TO WORK LONGER THAN 15 MINUTES PLEASE POST WHAT YOU DID FOR THE REST OF US THAT ARE OUT $200 AND A SMACK IN THE FACE FROM PANASONIC.
30 Great features, Terrible Battery life
I agree completely with everyone's assessment of the battery life on the handset. I rarely have the handset off the cradle, and if I am lucky, I can get the handset battery to last 35 minutes. Another thing that irks me about the battery life is, the handset will show full-charge in the battery meter, and then 2 seconds later, it's beeping and the battery meter is flashing because it's about to die. It's all or nothing.
The features of the phone are good, but the battery life gives frustration on this nearly $200 phone.
31 WORST BATTERIES
What will it take to get Panasonic's attention on the battery issue? I have been a happy and loyal Panasonic phone owner for almost 20 years. I have owned a number of answering machines and wireless phones and I have been extremely pleased with all Panasonic's products. So, I had no initial reluctance to purchasing this new phone system. It is full of features and represents the future of home phone systems. But, the battery is next to worthless. Believe ALL the reviews you have read about this product's poor battery life. And, believe that Panasonic is worthless at addressing the problem through any of their customer service venues. I have not tried the NiMH batteries yet. I paid enough for the phone that I expect it to work without me trying to make my own repairs. I feel that Panasonic should address this situation and work toward repairing a blatant inadequacy. But I am not holding my breath. And as the days continue to pass with no resolution from Panasonic, they are rapidly losing a loyal customer. So...BUYER BEWARE ON THIS PHONE!
32 Nice phone -- crazy battery problems
I hope I never own another Panasonic phone. The phone is nice and has nice features, but the &*!$ battery. I can pick up the phone and it is indicating full battery. Start the call and the phone beeps at me, the battery indicates 'Low', and 'No Link to Base' appears. The phone has been well taken care of AND I have experienced this problem with 3 Panasonic phones. I hate to bash -- but after dealing with these phones -- stay away from Panasonic.
33 Buy something other than a Panasonic
I concur with everyone else's assesement of low battery life and poor caller ID function. We have also experienced the people we are talking can hardly hear us. They always must ask us to speak up.
We called Panasonic support about the battery life issue and they told us it was not Panasonic's problem. It was the battery and they were not under warranty. After replacing the battery three times, we were fed up and called Panasonic support back to complain (after a half day of trying to get through) they offered to replace it with a refurbished unit. The only problem was they wanted us to ship the whole phone back before they would send us a replacement!! It would take 1 to 2 weeks! How can they expect us to do without a phone for that long?? I was waiting for them to offer to call us when it was ready.
Anyway, because of the poor product quality and terrible service and support, I will not purchase another Panasonic product.
34 Possible battery solution
Am interested in getting this phone system, but the battery problem seems to be the major issue. I found a NiMH 1200 mah replacement battery .... this should work better than the NiCad, but I have not tried it yet. Panasonic has no NiMH listed on there ... "Telephone Battery Cross Reference Chart" for this phone. As the phone otherwise would suit the purpose and have had reasonable use from an older 900 mhz pan, I may give it a try - I'll report back.
35 Worst phone ever owned!!!
I did quite a bit of research and settled on this phone over another Siemens (coming from an old Siemens Gigaset 2420). Boy was I ever wrong on this decision.
Listen to the people that complain about this phone. I started out thinking that people were over reacting to the low battery life on the phone and found that they were right on. My typical battery life on the cordless was about 15-30 minutes. I spoke with my co-worker/salesman and he told me he was experiencing the exact same problem. He later told me that after he deleted all the voice messages off the answering machine and the phone started charging again. Hmm not what I like to hear. Thought I could get a better battery so I went to Battery Plus and replaced the OEM battery and had similar experience except now the phone would disconnect for no reason when I switched to speaker phone.
Decided to call Panasonic to see about getting another phone (new) since mine was less then 3 months old and they stated that I could ship it to them and they would replace it with a refurbished phone!!!! This was not a cross ship.
Caller ID was horrible, as stated by other reviewers Caller ID worked sometimes and other times required that you wait and let it ring about 4-5 times.
Other problem included that the cordless phone would completely disconnect my phone call and when I would try to get dial tone it would complain that it didn't have a link to the base station even though I was 4 feet from it. My advice is to stay away.
I'm seriously thinking of getting the Siemens 8825 regardless of the reviews, at least it takes standard rechargable batteries which typically lasted for 4-5 hours of straight talk time.
36 Very poor battery life
If you are palnning to buy this phone for it's rich features, think twice about it's poor or no battery life. I own the phone for the past 7 months. Most of the time, handset is unusable; it takes 15 hours to charge, but a talk time of 45 to 60 minutes makes the battery to completely discharge.
37 Wireless Interference
Most reviewers seem to be concerned about interferences with their 2.4 GHz WLAN. I operated my WLAN access point 6 feet away from the base station of this phone for 6 months and did not experience any noticable problems or performance issues. However, I do have interferences with my X10 wireless camera that make my surveillance system practically unusable. Nobody tells you about that. There are just too many devices on the market that operate in the 2.4 GHz band.
Therefore, this phone has to go in exchange for a 5.8 GHz model (unfortunately, there are no 2-line phones on the market yet in the 5.8 GHz segment).
I was reasonably satisfied with the features, although I do agree with some of the other reviewers that the directory is too complicated to search.
38 Battery life is a joke and caller id is slow
I have never written a review on anything, but I am so unhappy with this phone and the support Ive gotten from Panasonic that I am moved to review it. The battery lasts for only a few quick calls before the phone goes dead. If you let the battery TOTALLY discharge and then change it for a full day you can get a few hours out of it, but make the mistake of putting it in the cradle before that point and your done. Once you do that the phone loses all sense of what a full charge is and refuses to take a charge even once the phone dies. The caller id is slow as others have mentioned, however its the unsuable battery life and the poor way that the battery is managed that makes this phone such a piece of garbage. I have two handsets and consistently run up large cell phone bills because I find my self in a position where both handsets are useless. If I didnt waste so much money on this I would throw it in the garbage. Oh and btw, you cant buy better batteries...period....also..Calling panasonic is about as usefull as the phone itself.
39 Many good features and many not so good
Will only mention the features I didn't care for:
1) Does not have speed dial. Has directory search which takes longer than keying in the number from a list.
2) Message record time is limited to 15 minutes including outgoing msgs which is too short for a 2-line phone used for a small business.
3) Listening to msgs doesn't tell you which line the call came in on.
4) The base screen is difficult to read if it is not tilted up toward you. Also difficult to read small print of the number of msgs.
5) Battery is NicCad, not NicHyd, therefore it holds memory.
6) Cannot go back and listen to a portion of a msg, only repeat the entire msg. This is inadequate for long customer orders. It does have "slow talk" playback but this is not the solution.
40 Poor quality
This is the second Panasonic cordless phone we've purchased in the last two years and they've both been terrible. The battery life is very poor. The phone goes dead and has to be completely recharged if you try to use the speaker phone feature. If it's off it's cradle for more than an hour the battery only lasts 15 minutes. Panasonic would not replace either phone we purchased. They had very poor customer support.
41 Useless phone
I strongly agree with all the people having battery problems. I purchased this model less than a year ago. I started facing battrey problems just after a month. With a full charge it last for less than 10 minutes. I also have an additioal set that has the same problem.
42 Great Features, HORRIBLE Battery Life
This phone has it all. The features are some of the best that I've ever seen on a wireless phone. However, the battery life is HORRIBLE. If a fully charged phone is taken off the charger, it will last only 3 days max (without any use what so ever). If you use the phone for more than 20 minutes, the battery almost completely discharges. As a result my handsets are always on the charger; which almost makes the idea of a wireless phone useless.
43 Great phone system, but HORRIBLE battery
To put this into perspective, I have owned cordless telephones for over a decade, since they first came out.
I've owned my KX-TG2740S for about four months now. It is a wonderful, feature-rich phone system, but it's useless because the battery is so bad. With all the complaints about this, I can't believe that Panasonic won't wake up and do something (other than to suggest sending the whole system back for them to look at, which means going without a phone!).
This is what happens:
1) The phone spends most of it's life in the charger. All night and most of the day while I'm away at work.
2)After one or two short phone calls, the battery level indicator suddenly drops from fully charged to 1 bar. I put it back in the charger and it takes hours to recharge as previously reported by others.
3)If I don't watch carefully, I'll suddenly be cut off during a conversation and the phone will go dead with no warning. The phone has to be recharged before I can use it again.
I think it is totally impractical to have to leave a phone out of the charger until it "asks" to be recharged so it won't develop a memory, especially since it lasts such a short time when talking.
It's a shame this phone has battery problems. Otherwise it would be a great system.
44 Very functional expandable phone system
It's a bit complex, but the manuals are pretty well wirtten. It's a bit pricey, but the functionality is there. It's got some flaws, but they're minor, taken on balance. And I guess I'm lucky enough to have bought one after Panasonic solved the battery problem that numerous raters have complained about. Or at least I haven't seen the problem over a month of use with three remote handsets. The sound is great on the base unit and handsets alike.
It sets up easily enough and changes to the configuration via the menus are pretty easy to accomplish. I had previously used a phone company voice mail, and it took a few days to get them to stop intercepting my calls. In the meantime, it was easy to end-run the problem by simply setting the number of rings before answering down to a low number. My point is that, if you need a system this complex, your transition from a less integrated system will give you plenty to think about. Unfortunately, you're on your own (just you and the manual) to make your swithover, because Panasonic's customer support is no help. And I mean NO help. For a company that big, with that diverse a product mix, Panasonic should be flat ashemed.
A few complaints. The system could use at least one more mailbox. It should allow you to download a few more ring tones. Each handset should allow you to screen calls (the base unit does). The alarm clock handset needs a way to indicate in the dark that the alarm is on, and a way to reset the alarm (same time next day) with a few less keystrokes.
One small shortcoming in the documenation: There needs to be some sort of matrix that summarizes which features and capabilities can only be achieved via the base unit versus the handset. It's confusing at first, but don't worry -- after a short while, you'll still be confused.
One note. My spouse is somehwat technically challenged. In reality, she just won't read a manual. So if you're in the same boat as I, be prepared to spend about an hour teaching a little class in your new phone system. Now that she can use the intercom feature, we're both happy, 'cuz I can see it's her and let it go to voicemail!
45 Excellent phone system
I just picked one of these up, and they're really excellent. The system is replacing an old Uniden 900mhz system that was on its last legs, so this is a definite step up.
It was easy to set up, easy to figure out, and so far we haven't run into any of the dreaded battery problems other reviewers have noted.
Some great things about the phone:
* selectable rings for each line. It's silly, but surprisingly useful in real life.
* The handset has a speakerphone mode for those times when you want other people in the room to be able to listen/talk to the person on the other end of the call. Very handy.
* clarity is great, both in normal and speakerphone modes.
The only bummer thing so far is the conference calling feature is a bit weak - on a three-way call my vocals were a bit weak. I was dialing into the unit, then conferencing someone else outbound on the other line, so that may be just how things are.
Overall, though, it's turning out to be an excellent phone.
46 A flop and not worth the money
Looks good. The specs look good. The phone battery is awful. When I first bought it, September of 2002, the handset lasted a grand total of 2 hours. Now, March of 2003, the handset will last 56 minutes. Call waiting doesn't work at all. Called the phone company, they said it's not them. They're right. It's the phone. Panasonic website has zero info on what to do. Not worth the money.
47 Worth it but a little tedious
Call clarity and range is excellent. I have owned Panasonic cordless phones for 8 years. This model shares the Panasonic tradition of being well made.
Set up is a bit tedious and battery life is not great but the range of features more than makes up for these issues...in my opinion. The portable speaker phone feature is a dream considering it is not possible to really cradle any of the new cordless phones on your shoulder if you need to use both hands for something.
I have not experienced any of the severe problems with batteries or the answering system.
Battery life seems to be an issue of battery technology - this phone simply does more from the handsets...just like a cell phone...and I am willing to accept the relatively short battery life in exchange for the convenience this system offers our family.
The addition of the 2nd handset solved my issues with the battery.
Caller ID usually displays on the second or third ring - but with the system set to pick-up at 4 rings...I have no problem with that at all.
Lastly, our teenager is thrilled with the phone and had no problems figuring out how to use it.
48 Unreliable answering machine
Amazon.com has a great price on this phone. I bought it and just spent several hours setting it up. I found that the electronic menu would be impossible for a non-tech person to deal with. Manual volume and ring settings would be useful (this is all electronic menu driven).
Once set up my trial calls to leave messages did not always get recorded. Since I am using this for my business I cannot afford to have messages lost. This machine just doesn't make the grade.
49 Buyer beware.
These phones seemed to be exactly what we needed, but it hasn't worked out well at all. Within days of purchase problems began...each handset recorded different incoming calls (some calls appeared on all handsets, other calls on only some, etc.) After other inconsistent problems, I tried to contact Panasonic, which I've discovered has about the worst customer support as any company I've come across. I tried their web site and found no troubleshooting information. I repeatedly called their customer support line (I mean for days) without getting through. When I finally reached someone, she took the information and said someone would call me back within 48 hours. EIGHT DAYS LATER, I finally got through again to say no one had contacted me and the problems were worse. Again, no response. So I took the base unit back to Circuit City and they gave me a new one (which helped for about a week, then the problems resurfaced and now are getting worse with time.
When brand new,the batteries seemed to hold a charge as advertised. But now I literally get a ten minute call in and the phone is dead and must completely recharge. To make it more frustrating, it shows three bars on the display and then blanks out (unusable) from one second to the next with no warning.
Yesterday, one of the eight handset's display went black and now won't even recharge at all.
The phones are less than a year old and the system is worthless. Unless Panasonic has done some major reworking of these phones, I would stay away.
50 More on Battery Problems
I have had this phone system for 6 months and would rate it higher except for the multiple problems I have had with this phone. The features are great and the sound the clarity is good. However, I have the same issues with the battery life as many others have reported.
I have 3 handsets in all (one with the base/answering machine and 2 extra handsets). On two of the handsets, I have a continually dwindling battery life. Several calls to customer service have not helped--they seem to be unaware of the battery issues. They offered for me to return the phones for repair, but I am certain the problem is due to battery "memory" and they will not just replace the batteries for me (even with the phone under warranty). They insist I have to send in the phones. That means I will be without my phone system for a few weeks. The phones used to work well, but over the past few weeks the symptoms have worsened. I am at the point where I can hardly use the phones.
This is what happens:
1)After one or two short phone calls, the battery completely discharges and is not back to a full charge for hours as previously reported by others.
2)Countless times I have been cut off in the middle of conversations (including one to Panasonic customer service--after waiting on hold for 15 minutes, I had to call back on another phone and wait again.) Usually this happens without the low battery warning.
3)I can be in the middle of a conversation, and with the least little jostle of the phone (or the accidental pressing of a random button), the connection is lost and the battery display then shows low battery. The phone has to be recharged before I can use it again.
I think it is totally impractical to have to leave a phone out of the charger until it "asks" to be recharged so it won't develop a memory. (I want to know where the phone is plus I don't want extra clutter of having to place the handset elsewhere on the desk!)However, now that my phone batteries have developed short "memories", I can't leave the phone out of the charger at all or else the battery discharges even faster.
The other problem I had was that my display on one of the phones went black and I had to return it for replacement. They sent me a refurbished phone. That phone is working okay at the moment.
I would be interested in finding out about the Nickel Metal Hydride battery (vs. the NiCad) but Panasonic is no help on this.
It is too bad this phone has these battery problems. Otherwise it would be a great system.
51 Wonderful
I've never experienced a home cordless phone like this, it just as easy to use as a cell phone. Thanks to the R&D of Panasonic. They are wonderful. I am enjoy almost every function of this phone. However, if this phone has more varieties of ringer music to choose (just like panasonic cell phone GD88), AND if you can also add muti-language key-in, that will even make this phone the Best-Buy in the world.
52 Nothing's perfect... but this is close enough for the $$$
Past reviewers have all commented extensively on the features and functions of this expandable system, I can't really add to that.
I visited Amazon and many, many, many other sites while researching my purchase -- for the money, this seemed to be the best overall in technical specs, features, functions and user appeal. Certainly, none of the various systems have everything everyone wants and this phone is no exception.
My experience thus far:
1) Like the looks of both base unit and handsets (I purchased an additional KX-TGA270S).
2) Handsets are fairly comfortable to hold against your head while in your hand, but difficult to keep in the crook of your neck for "hands-free" operation -- that's where the speaker phone on the handset does come in handy and yes, it would be nice if the volume could go a bit louder.
3) I dislike having to use the speakerphone on the base unit to record answering machine greetings -- the ability to do so from a handset or a external microphone jack would be great. I tried to be creative and have background music while recording the greeting and it sounds horrible no matter how I do it...
4) Both of my handsets came with the NiCD batteries and thus far they've performed OK. Certainly hard to leave them alone during the first 15 hours of "hibernation" (hey, I'm a geek and want to play!). We've been very careful to not place them back in the charger until the handset asks to be recharged. Time will ultimately tell and we're researching which NiMH batteries can be used instead just in case.
5) The Caller ID has worked fairly well. You have to get used to the fact that Ring #1 won't yield CID info -- it does consistently appear with Ring #2 for us. We especially like the storage of the last 50 phone calls -- nice to see who's called and be able to instantly return their call if no message was deposited.
At the end of the day, and when compared to other 2.4GHz expandable systems, we're pleased so far -- of course, it helped that we were able to find the base system and an additional handset for just slightly more than [$$]. We've tossed the stand-alone answering machine (orig retail [$$]) and an AT&T 900MHz cordless (orig retail [$$]) and feel the Panasonic combination has been a reasonable expense.
53 So far so good
I needed a 2 line phone system with an extension out in my workshop, some 50' and several walls away. I tried this Panasonic despite the mixed reviews, and was ready to return it if it failed any of the tests. I am happy to report that so far I am very pleased with this system. It performs well and does all I want, and the extension in the workshop is a treat - I set a distinctive ring tone and the clarity is fine. I have had none of the problems mentioned in other reviews, and if battery issues show up in time I can always switch to NiMH batteries as someone recommended.
This is a complicated system with many features and options but despite this, it seems well thought-out. Perhaps I am used to the logic. The manual is clear and straightforward. There are a few idiosyncracies with the displays but it's almost impossible to provide a general solution that meets the style of everybody. I am preparing to switch all the house phones to this system.
I particularly appreciate the speakerphone on the handsets, where the sound quality is acceptable. I haven't exploited the intercom yet but I predict that this will be invaluable over time.
p.s. the photo on Amazon seems to be for the wrong model as the 2740 has two antennae for the two lines.
54 NIMH Battery
This isn't exactly a review because I haven't purchased the phone yet but am seriouly considering it. I am writing this to dispute some information in the review by a reviewer in San Diego. He says that to avoid the problems with the battery mentioned by several reviewers, he purchased the NIMH battery that was available for it. Since I couldn't find such a battery I called Panasonic directly and was told that there is not a NIMH battery available for this model. They do claim that the problems with the NICD battery have been addressed and corrected as have the problems with Caller ID.
55 best phone out there - if you buy the NiMH battery!
People have complained that this phone has a short battery life. So when I bought this phone I purchased the separate NiMH battery which is available for it, and it works perfect! The phone has gone with no charge for 3 days now, under heavy usage, and the battery has still not run out.
Features:
- GREAT audio quality, on the phone AND answering machine.
I had the Vtech 2 line 2.4GHz phone before this, which had very poor audio quality, and which I returned.
- Panasonic thought of everything when designing this. Everything works very intuitively and no features were left out. There is nothing about this phone that is a pain to use, unlike the Vtech, which for example makes you go through all kinds of menus to call back a caller ID number. The Panasonic does it for you, and remembers which area codes need a 1 in front. Another example, with the vtech you have to set the time manually, the pansonic gets the time automatically from caller ID.
- Very nice buttons. These are easier to operate than any other phone I have used!! the vtech's buttons were these small rubbery keys that were hard to press causing digits to be easily missed or duplicated when dialing.
The only bad thing about the phone is you do have to refer to the manual a few times before you know how do do everything, but considering the great features and design it's well worth it.
I would say this is the best 2line phone out there, but spend the extra money for the NiMH battery.
56 So much better than Siemens
I had a Siemens phone system that I dumped and replaced it with this one. I recommend reading the other reviews; here's some notes to fill in the gaps:
1. I haven't had any problems with battery life. It seems "normal" --i.e. I probably get several hours talk time and many hours standby, but I keep the phone in the charger at night and most of the day when I'm not using it, so it's not like it's ever far from being charged 100%.
2. The phone is solid and well-designed (unlike the Siemens). The base unit does not have a headset jack, but the handset does (as do the add-on handsets, a separate product).
3. The add-on handsets, BTW, are almost exactly the same as the handset that comes with the base station: slightly (very slightly) different form factor, but the same buttons and interface.
4. The directory on the hanset is a bit clunky to use, I agree, but it works.
5. The caller ID seems to work great for me. No problems.
6. The interface is very clear and easy to use, unlike the Siemens.
7. I can't comment on the answering machine as I don't use it.
8. In addition to the speakerphone in the base unit, the handset has a speakerphone! Yes, the HANDSET-- it's like a portable speakerphone. Kind of an odd feature but I find myself using it occasionally. Neat.
9. Anyone on an extension phone can join into a conversation (unlike the Siemens). So if I am on Line1 and want someone in the kitchen to join in the call, they can just pick up that phone and press Line1 and be there with me.
Hope this helps.
best
Eric
57 Replaced my Siemens
Another handset on my Siemens died (the original 2-line expandable with answering machine). I had had enough.
Here's my initial impression of the Panasonic compared to the Siemens:
1) I have not had problems with the battery. In fact, the battery life is much better than with Siemens, even when I replaced all the original rechargables. Now there was a handset that would drive you crazy. Because they are NiCDs, the Panasonic batteries do have to be conditioned properly. You really do have to let them charge for 15 hrs, though this can be very inconvenient to do.
2) As for the other features of the handset, I think these handsets are much better than Siemens. The Siemens win with cool factor and size, but have much worse key feel and are poorly integrated with answering machine functions. Also, the reliability was absolutely horrendous. I went through 4 different ones and the 4 that survived were flaky. Futhermore, the Panasonic's speaker phone on each handset is a great feature.
3) I think they unecessarily limited the size of the phone book and the answering machine on this phone because of their higher end models. There's only 50 avaiable numbers and 15 minutes of talk time on the AM. Although I have yet to exhaust the capacity of the answering machine - who wants messages more than 3 mintues anyway - the phone book is already filled. That kind of [edit]. The great thing about caller ID is how easily you can record a persons number. At least there's a 50 number record of callers.
4) One feature I miss on the Siemens is the ability to use the base as an intercom system. You can immediately broadcast you voice over the speaker phone on the base station. It's a great way to track someone down. On the Panasonic, you can set it up to immediately _hear_ the other side (its called room monitor) but you can't talk over the speaker. Also, as far as I can tell you can't page all the handsets from another handset, only from the base station. It's not clear why that's an acceptable limitation.
5) The Siemens can have two base stations though I have no use for that feature.
6) On the Siemens, you can identify each handset with a name instead of a number but it is very awkward to set that up.
Things I wish it could do:
- Handle memory free batteries (I believe this would have been a low-cost feature but they chose to leave it off to differentiate their product line)
- Have more handset flexibility in terms of being able to page other handsets or use the base station as an intercom.
- Have more directory entries.
I am very relieved to be done with the very flaky Siemens system. My firends got the same one at the time and also have done nothing but gripe about the handsets. It's too bad. The Panasonic have a quality that the Siemens does not. It's not perfect feature wise but I there was nothing that was. I would say it does 80% of what I want, and it does it clearly and consistently.
58 wish I had started here
Just got the phone for Xmas and am doing the rather tedious setup. Maybe too many features for me. Since I have barely used it, I don't know about the purported lousy batteries. I do know, there is no backup battery in the base unit which will be a pain if we have a power outage. It has a great directory, but I would like to have auto-dial for numbers I dial frequently. My old 900mhz phone had only nine, but they were as easy as *X. Finally, the backlit display is far too dim and too small for older eyes. Not a good AARP phone. After using the phone for awhile, I'll update this, but for now, it lacks some of the things it should have and has many things that are unnecessary for most.
59 Great and Horrible Phone, all in one.
I thought this phone sounded great so I bought it. Tons of great features, but this phone has serious pitfalls which overshadow the features. First, there is a limit of 3 minutes per call on the answering machine. You can change the default, but not above this (if they permit changing, why not to a higher number than 3 minutes??). Second, the Caller ID performance is poor. Sometimes you have to wait for 2 or more rings just to get the Caller ID info to show. Not very helpful when you want to know whether or not to pick up before the answering machine. On rare occasions, Caller ID information does not display at all. Third, and this is the WORST, the battery is AWFUL. It is recommended that you not re-charge until the battery gets completely low, but this is not practical. The battery strength indicator has 3 bars, and if you wait until you get to the 3rd bar before recharging, you better hope you don't get a phone call because you'll only have 15 minutes before the phone begins beeping incessantly at you to let you know. The beeps come in the form of periodic triple-beeps that interrupt your phone call...during the beeping you cannot hear the other party and they cannot hear you...it is extremely annoying and you have to wonder why it was made so. Does Panasonic think that the only way you will know that the battery is low is if they constantly beat you over the head? As a result your only choice is to NOT follow the recommendation. And now after 6 weeks of normal use (less than normal, actually...I am in a 1-person household and don't use the phone much) I have a completely useless battery. It will go from fully charged to completely dead in about 30 minutes, and takes forever to charge back up again.
Bottom line: this phone has great features, but don't be fooled. I doubt many of its praisers have actually had it for very long. It's a total lemon. I'm out a lot of money for this piece of junk...don't allow the same to happen to you.
60 SEVERE BATTERY PROBLEMS
I PURCHASED THIS PANASONIC CORDLESS STRICTLY ON REPUTATION.
THIS TELEPHONE COULD BE AN EXCELLENT PRODUCT, IF IT WERE NOT FOR THE FAILURE OF THE CHARGING SYSTEM & BATTERIES THAT IT UTILIZES.
THIS PHONE IS USELESS FOR OTHER THAN SHORT & FEW CONVERSATIONS.
THE NI-CAD BATTERIES ARE TERRIBLE & LAST ONLY A SHORT TIME. PANASONIC LIED ABOUT THE 11 DAY STANDBY & 3.5 HOURS TALK TIME
THE TRUTH IS 6 HOURS STANDBY & 1/2 HOUR TALK TIME & NO SPARE BATTERY CHARGING ABILITY. NOTHING !![.]
NOW I HAVE THREE HANDSETS & THE BASE TELEPHONE & MY ONLY RECOURSE IS TO TOSS IT AWAY & START OVER. THE SIEMENS I HAD PREVIOUSLY WAS EXCELLENT ON BATTERIES USAGE, BUT IT HAD RECEPTION PROBLEMS, SIEMENS UTILIZES NICKLE METAL HYDRIDE RECHARGABLES. IT ALSO HAD THE ABILITY TO CHANGE BATTERIES.
PANASONIC, LIKE MANY OTHER COMPANIES REALLY STICK IT TO YOU BY MAKING YOU BUY THEIR BATTERIES, WHICH ALWAYS REQUIRE REPLACEMENTS.
STAY AWAY FROM THIS ONE, OR YOU TOO WILL BE FOOLED
61 SEVERE BATTERY PROBLEMS
I PURCHASED THIS PANASONIC CORDLESS STRICTLY ON REPUTATION.
THIS TELEPHONE COULD BE AN EXCELLENT PRODUCT, IF IT WERE NOT FOR THE FAILURE OF THE CHARGING SYSTEM & BATTERIES THAT IT UTILIZES.
THIS PHONE IS USELESS FOR OTHER THAN SHORT & FEW CONVERSATIONS.
THE NI-CAD BATTERIES ARE TERRIBLE & LAST ONLY A SHORT TIME...
THE TRUTH IS 6 HOURS STANDBY & 1/2 HOUR TALK TIME & NO SPARE BATTERY CHARGING ABILITY. NOTHING !!!!!!
NOW I HAVE THREE HANDSETS & THE BASE TELEPHONE & MY ONLY RECOURSE IS TO TOSS IT AWAY & START OVER. THE SIEMENS I HAD PREVIOUSLY WAS EXCELLENT ON BATTERIES USAGE, BUT IT HAD RECEPTION PROBLEMS, SIEMENS UTILIZES NICKLE METAL HYDRIDE RECHARGABLES. IT ALSO HAD THE ABILITY TO CHANGE BATTERIES.
PANASONIC, LIKE MANY OTHER COMPANIES REALLY STICK IT TO YOU BY MAKING YOU BUY THEIR BATTERIES, WHICH ALWAYS REQUIRE REPLACEMENTS.
STAY AWAY FROM THIS ONE, OR YOU TOO WILL BE FOOLED
62 Great Phone & Features, little more and it would be perfect!
An excellent 2-line, answering machine and cordless phone system with many nice, useful features. I certainly recommend it.
I have the base + 3 additional expandable phones. Overall I'm very happy with the system. Phones are very clear and everything works as advertised. You can check your messages from any expandable phone - very convenient.
Speakerphones on the handsets are great - although I would like to have the volume a little louder than the maximum.
Never being satisfied with the status quo, I'd recommend the following enhancements and the phone system would be perfect:
- Can only record 15 minutes on answering machine. Up it to at least 30 minutes.
- While you can access your messages remotely, you can't change your outgoing message remotely. I like to use a feature like this to get a better outgoing message recorded instead of using the external microphone that is part of the base.
- Add a optional audible tone that beeps if you have new messages. My AT&T had this and I loved it!
- Display on unit should show number of messages, it only indicates this audibly after asking to play messages.
- The base should have a battery compartment to allow to use the system during a power outage and as a spare battery for a handset.
- Battery indicator on phones seems odd. After using any phone for about 30 minutes - it goes from full to almost empty. Takes many hours to show full again. Indicator never shows medium.
UPDATE: I'm updating this review about a month and a half after using the phone. I changed from 4 stars to 3 stars. A few times the phone just shuts down during a conversation. This happens when the battery goes down to one bar. There is no warning at all - you are just disconnected from the caller. This has happened about 4 times during the last month. As long as we watch the battery - we are okay -- very inconvenient.
Panasonic should not have used NiCad batteries which suffer severely from memory effect. If I weren't passed my return date - I'd consider going with something else because of this battery issue.
63 could be better
this phone system could be better,should have put some sort of battery backup in case of power failure,good range though,it would also have been nice if the base would have had a lighted screen that would stay on all the time,not just when a call comes in.has a good choice of ring styles,from a door bell sound to a wild gizmo sound,a total of six different ones.but all in all,another good phone from panasonic!!!
64 Bad experience..
Initially I thought this was a great phone with nice features. The first problem was that it wouldn't charge. Panasonic support said they would send new batteries in 2 days. A week later I got an envelope with 2 pieces of velco to put in the battery compartment. There was no explanation of why the velcro instead of batteries. Range was poor, sound was scratchy. It took it back for a refund.
65 Finally -- a phone system which has it ALL!
...Yes, I love this phone. No, I don't have any connection to Panasonic. It's just that I've been waiting a long time for something like this at a price I could afford.
The KX-TG2740S is the top of Panasonic's new line of expandable cordless phone systems (expandable means you can buy and add more handsets - in this case up to 7 in addition to the one which comes included).
It has two lines, built-in digital answering machine with multiple mailboxes, keypad + speakerphone on the base station, caller-id, plus a great feature I couldn't find on any similar system, nor on Panasonic's more expensive KX-TG2000 and KX-TG4000 systems: a speakerphone in the handsets! This is invaluable when you call a voice-mail system or information service (like Moviefone) which requires you to push keys in response to voice prompts - or when you get put on hold by some customer service rep for 20 minutes.
One of the additional handset models you can buy (the KX-TGA272S) has a built-in alarm clock and lies horizontally in its charger with a handy speakerphone button showing -- perfect for bedside or computer-side use.
Range and voice quality are excellent; this is my first 2.5ghz phone and I was concerned that it might interfere with my wireless Airport network (or vice-versa), but that has not turned out to be the case, even with four handsets scattered around the house.
Panasonic has always made good cordless phones - but with the KX-TG2740s it has really hit the bullseye IMO.
(For those who don't need two lines and/or a built-in answering machine, the other models in this line [KX-TG2700s, KX-TG2720s, & KX-TG2730s] are also good bets).
