Customer Reviews

Panasonic 5.8 GHZ Single Handset System Expandable Digital Cordless Answering System (KX-TG4321B)

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

What I like most about this phone is that it uses 2 AAA batteries (rechargeable included). The battery in my previous phone would die every year and its cost was ~17$ (almost half the price of a new phone).

Pros: Very good voice quality (also with the speaker), easy to use answering machine, light weight, 5.8G doesn't interfere with my wireless.

Cons: none so far.

Call quality on the handset--both on the earpiece and the speakerphone--is nonproblematic. The base for the handset has a very small footprint (I'm estimating it at no more than 40 square inches) but is highly functional at the same time. For example, recording a hilarious outgoing answering-machine message is an absolute cinch. Checking messages is likewise a breeze.

My only issues are that the handset feels a little light in the hand (although that may be something you're looking for--I was expecting something with a little more heft). But that's a petty complaint. More seriously, although the battery (at least on first charge) lasts for a few days' idle time plus several hours' talk time (approximately), the handset readout says "Charge for seven hours" when the battery's near dead. You probably don't need to charge it for the full seven, but I feel compelled to.

All in all, however, the Panasonic KX-TG4321B is an aesthetically pleasing and eminently competent phone.

UPDATE (9/15/2008): I need to add that the phone craps out frequently. Sometimes it's because it's getting low on juice (but nowhere near empty), and other times, for no apparent reason. And by "crap out," I mean the equivalent of the Windows "blue screen of death." It comes back to life after a minute or so, but it's immensely aggravating when someone calls you, you pick up, and your phone goes blank. Or when you try to dial out, and the same thing happens. I would lower my rating to two stars if Amazon would let me, but it won't.

Also, three months in, it doesn't seem to hold a full charge for as long as it used to. A couple days' idle time and a couple hours' talk time, I'd estimate.

UPDATE (11/10/2008): I want my money back. The GD thing barely holds a charge at all anymore. And this despite the fact that, in the beginning, I religiously made sure to drain the battery before recharging.

Also, the crapping out has gone from frequent to normal behavior. I would estimate that only about 20% of the time am I able to dial out on the first try. And I would say that at least 80% of my calls, if connected, are cut off by this phone. I would knock this junk down to one star if Amazon would let me. DO NOT BUY.

UPDATE (3/21/2009): If you can train yourself to return the phone to its cradle after each use, it'll serve you well. This defeats to some extent the purpose of having a cordless phone, but whatever.

UPDATE (2/13/2011): Two things: First, at some point, it started crashing even if I put it back in its stand after every call. Second, even if it didn't crash, after a few seconds, it would either mute me or the person on the other end of the line, so that we couldn't hear each other. Having finally had my fill, I threw it out.

I bought this phone to replace our old one which battery life was no longer what it needed to be. Personally I didn't need currently lots of hand sets because we live in a small apartment, however we may be moving so I did want one that I would be able to expand in the future if required. So far I can not complain about this phone. I found it easy to set up and add phone numbers into it. I can sometimes hear a little interference on the line but I am not sure whether that is the phone or not. It has many features which are useful to have. You can locate the handset when it is not in the base as well as set an alarm and also set ring tones to different numbers. The answer phone is also a bonus. I would say for the money this is a great phone with lots of great features.

I can't comment on the quality phone as I'm sending it back before completely unpacking it. I immediately noticed there is no headset jack on the handset. As I frequently use a headset for business calls so I can type while on the phone, this is a deal-breaker for me. Ironic that Amazon features a headset as a recommended accessory under 'better together' - thus my assumption there would be a jack. This is the first cordless phone I've purchased that does not have a headset jack.

This phone always needs recharging. The charge lasts for 1/2 hour at most and then when you are talking to someone it starts beeping the whole time you are talking. This is an annoying phone. I bought the phone because it was supposed to be the best Panasonic, but the last one I bought was cheaper and the charge would last all night and into the day without recharging.

We are basically happy with this product. The phone is quite compact and smaller than we had envisioned it. It has good range and we get nice reception upstairs as well as outside the house on the patios. The only issue is that there is sometimes an echo in the backround and you can hear yourself speaking after a 1/2 second delay. (not sure if it is exclusively an issue with this phone but still annoying) Otherwise for the price and quality I would definetly recommend it.

This phone is extremely nice. Easy to setup and operate. It doesn't take up a lot of space, yet has an answering machine built in! Very lightweight, but not cheap feeling or looking. The only downside (and it's small) is that the keypad doesn't light up (only the caller ID display lights up). I LOVE the night mode function (whereby the phone automatically stops and resumes ringing at a specified time (by you) each night. You can't beat it for the price!

I am very happy with this phone. I was looking for the following:

-cordless phone with answering machine
-speakerphone capability, either on the handset or the base
-5.8 GHz or higher
-small footprint
-under $50

This phone met all my requirements. What finalized my decision when reading the reviews was the fact that the handset takes AAA batteries. My other cordless required a special battery that cost about $15. Ridiculous.
The answering machine was easy to set up. The phone itself is very intuitive. The manual is easy to understand. I spent very little time setting up this system. But I do not have caller ID or call waiting. The clarity is great. Best of all, it takes up very little room on my desk. So I'm very happy with my purchase.

Great phone and recorder. Compact and efficient as well as easy to use. Highly recommended.

You can turn the ringer off on the handset and even put it on Night Mode and the handset will not ring during Night Mode which you preset. But the base will always ring. I unplug the phone line from the base (and it does say "Check Phone Line" when I do that which is pretty awesome.)

Also the battery always shows three bars even when it's about to die.

Plusses, it is a a very good phone. I went across the street from my apartment building and received a phone call pretty clearly. No static.

You can save phone numbers that arrive even if your phonebook is full 0-9.

It has seven ringers and you can program a ring to a caller.