Customer Reviews

Panasonic GigaRange KX-TG5571M 5.8 GHz DSS Expandable Cordless Phone with Answering System and Talking Caller ID (Metallic Grey)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I junked my Motorola MD681 for this phone. I was skeptical about jumping into another wireless phone system, but I needed phones in some areas where there are typically no jacks (garage, attic). After doing some research, I decided to go with Panasonics' new phone system. Unlike Motorola, I see all types of older 2.4Ghz expandable Panasonic phones still available for purchase from the popular retailers. So, this new phone should be supported for some time. Anyway, into the details.

<u>The Good</u>
1. Handset : this phone feels good in the hand and on the ear. Though not overly heavy, it has a nice weight and doesn't creak or flex through normal use unlike some other less expensive handsets. Most of the color on the handset is protected by a clear acrylic, so it will retain its color for years. The LCD screen is very large, much larger than I am used to. It does show a great deal of information legibly. It has an orange backlight that illuminates the screen as well as all of the buttons. Most of the navigation is done with a 4-way joystick and 2 soft buttons which makes most things fairly intuitive.

2. The Base : It is small considering how many buttons and functions it performs. It is however missing a large display for showing callerID information. However, most of the time I will look to the phone to provide this info, and it leaves only one CID list to maintain. On my old system, the base would always show 50 new calls because I never went through the CID list on the base, so this is a plus for me.

3. Sound : Okay, this is a highly subjective area, but I like the sound of the Panasonic. The speakerphone, on the handset, is probably one of the best I have used. The mic is sensitive enough that we don't have to yell to be heard, and the speaker provides consistent volume and good clarity. There is a voice enhancement filter that you can turn on or off, or have the phone decide when to use it. I have it set to automatic, and I can't tell if it is on without looking at the display. It is never on for domestic calls, but for those overseas calls it activates and the calls sound like domestic calls with a wee bit of static. I have not done an A/B comparison to see how a long distance call sounds with it on and off, so this could be a gimmick. There are the standard beepy, computerized ringtones included, but you can record your own ringtones into the phone from any source you want. I haven't played with this yet, but the demos that are included with the phone sound as good as could be expected from a telephone. I guess I would put them above cell phone quality audio of the same type.

4. Convenience : The thing that I love about this phone is that you can check/delete/save your answering machine messages from any handset. If there is CID info, you can return the call immediately by pressing talk and the phone will dial the number. The other thing I love about this phone is the shared phonebook. No more looking for the phone with so-and-so's number on it, or having to program 4 phones with the same number, they will all have the same phonebook. This phone also has a distictive ring capacity. You can program anyone in your phonebook to flash the LED in one of three colors (blue/green/orange) as well as play a certain ring tone, including the user recorded types. Plus the standard intercom, call transfers, 3-way calling that is pretty much standard with these types of phones.

5. Extras : This system comes with a feature called CallerIQ. You have to signup with a 3rd party company openLCR. For $10 every 4 months, they will allow you to call them and download weather, stocks, sports scores, horoscopes and lottery results. Ringtones aren't included and cost extra and are of the downloaded cell phone ringtone sytle. You can also have your phonebook uploaded for safe keeping and reference while away from home. Not sure if this is a plus or minus, but getting the 1 to 3 days of weather on your phone is a nice little thing. I have not tried this myself.

6. Range : This phone covers my whole house with no static or dropouts. I have not attempted to walk down the street with it because I probably never will, but a walk to the mailbox proved its range to be adequate, especially with the base at the other end of the house. I have also not noticed any intereference with my wireless network, but truth be told you shouldn't with any 5.8ghz phone.

<u>The Not So Good</u>
1. The Phone : The buttons are small. Not very small, but noticeably smaller than normal. The Talk/Off/Speakerphone buttons and the Soft Buttons are tiny, and may be hard to hit for those people with big/wide fingers.

2. The Base : I would not suggest mounting this on your wall. The bracket supplied essentially holds the base horizontally as if it were laying on a table, so it just juts out into the room instead for hanging more or less flush. Needless to say, my base is resting upon a table now. The base also was not intended to be the primary source of input. The LCD panel is small, and only displays the number of calls on the answering machine. A small green light on the base will let you know if the line is being used. I wish there was more info displayed on the base, but the phone is your primary device for accessing the system, so I guess they're keeping it simple.

3. Sound : Other than the questionable effectiveness of the voice enhancer, I don't have much to complain about here.

4. Convenience : How hard is it to name the various phones? I don't want to have to tell people phone 2 is in the basement, or phone 3 is the guest room. Why can't we label phones or just pick from a list of common rooms when we associate a phone to the base? I deduct .5 stars for this because everything else is there, why not this? It seems like a total no brainer.

5. Extras : I'm not sure about the 3rd party site for CallerIQ. They mention on the site that it is a long distance call, but they don't say to where. So, you figure 30-90 seconds a day to download the information. That's quite a bit of long distance calling that you have to pay for on top of the service charge. No too sure about this one.

So, this turned out to be much longer than I had ever intended it to be. So, I'll attempt to summarize for those who don't want to slog through my rambling.

The Panasonic TG5571M is a solid phone with a good feature set and some very nice convenience features added in. It allows you to check the answering machine from any phone in the system, it also has one unified phonebook that is shared between all phones, and it has great sound and sufficient range. However, it is missing the capability to name the various satellite phones, the buttons on the phone are slightly smaller than normal and the wall mount projects the phone into the room. I'm giving it 5 stars, because I can't give 4.5.

I've had the KX-TG5571M for 2 weeks now and it has worked flawlessly. I decided to get this phone when a $30 rebate was offered on the phone. This phone replaces another Panasonic cordless phone that worked on the 2.4GHz frequency. However, that phone interfered with my wireless network every time I used it (I would loose my wireless internet connection).

What do I like about this phone? First, it is small, smaller than the average cordless phone. It also fits nicely in your hands. It is a little narrower in the middle so it is easier to hold, just like a bottle. Second, this phone works on a 5.8GHz frequency and does NOT interfere with my wireless network. Now, I do not loose my wireless internet connection anymore. Third, the speakerphone is a real convenience. If you have to go through menus when calling companies, etc or have to input numbers, putting the phone on speakerphone is a real convenience. Fourth, this phone has a nice big screen and a nicer interface. It now mimics the interface of many cellular phones, although a little cruder. The main menu has a menu that consists of six icons, which can be accessed through a joystick just like many cellular phones. Fifth, you can record your own ring tones on this phone. Just plug the included audio cable from any audio device into the phone and record your ring tone. Sixth, the talking caller ID saves me unnecessary trips to the phone as I can now hear who is calling. If I get a call that I do not want to answer I just don't walk over to the phone to pick it up.

What do I NOT like about this phone? First, the buttons are a little small and may be a problem if you have thick fingers. Second, the numeric keys are made of hard plastic. I think this makes pressing the numeric keys a little flimsier and harder to do. All my previous Panasonic cordless phones I've had had soft plastic numeric keys. The only other issue I have, is that answering one call on one handset registers as a missed call on extra handsets (if added). I would assume that since this phone is one system, everything would work synchronous. This is not the case. However, this seems to be a problem with all my previous expandable Panasonic cordless phones systems.

Some other things worth mentioning is that the call quality is excellent and the volume of the speaker is adjustable. Also, the answering machine works flawlessly (as do other Panasonic answering machines). The answering machines works just like any other Panasonic answering machine. There are 2 pre-recorded greetings and the messages left on the machines can be clearly heard back. The phone comes with 7 ring tones, 4 of which are "melodies". Also, the phone book can be copied to other handsets (if added). The antenna is also really small, about 1/2 inch long. The phone also comes with a belt clip, which is really handy if you are "busy" and want to keep the phone close by. And in case you want to use a headset, this is possible as there is a headset jack on the phone. One last thing worth mentioning is that the numeric keys are lighted (as well as the handset screen) in an orange hue. This makes dialing or using the phone in the dark easy.

This phone has definitely been worth the price and I can now enjoy my interference free wireless network. If you are thinking about upgrading your phone, this is THE phone to choose (or the other variations of this phone).


Update 7/27/2005:
A couple of days ago I discovered that the phone gives you a list of the last 5 numbers dialed if you press the redial button repeatedly. None of my previous cordless phones could do this and this is really a great and useful feature.

As a collection of individual phones, it's quite nice. As a multi-handset phone system, it feels like a beta version:

(a) If phone rings and you answer it from one extension, all other extensions will report that you missed the call.

(b) You can copy the phone book to other extensions (one extension at a time), but if you have associated specific ring tones or LED colors with certain phone book entries, these are not copied, you have to re-associate them at each phone

(c) You can record sounds to use as ringtones, but you have to do it over again at each extension, you can't record it centrally and have it work for the whole system

(d) There is no way to choose centrally any handset settings such as volume and whether "Talking Caller ID" is on or off; you have to do it at each phone. (Sometimes you do want different settings on different phones, but when you don't, why can't you just set it once? It's supposed to be a system)

(e) Talking Caller ID takes a while to start talking, and it won't use the name in the phonebook, it only uses the name provided by Caller ID. Since many cell phones just report "Cellular Call", this feature is less useful than you might think.

as i wrote in my review of the at&t 5965C (which i returned for this phone), land lines have not caught up with the technology available for cell phones. so if you think you can duplicate that level of features and ease of use - forget it. won't happen no matter what brand you choose.

that said, the KX-TG5571M is a keeper.

1 - the answering machine functions are well integrated and easy to use. panasonic's interface for moving through messages is intuitive and even makes listening to multiple old messages easy - i almost don't miss my old cassette based system any more! you can pick the messages up from your handset AND even if you pick up the messages from the base - the handset display recognizes that you've checked the messages and clears the display (not all phones do this!)

2 - the caller id features are well implemented. there is a voice announce for caller id that says the name after the first ring and does a pretty good job - not as many garbled names as you would think. and on call waiting the id shows on the first beep which is great (this was an issue on the at&t 5965C which didn't show the id until the 3rd beep or sometimes not at all). the CID log lists last 50 DIFFERENT numbers and if folks have called more than once, it indicates the number of calls they've made. once you review a missed call, it marks the log with a check mark. it's easy to add calls to your phonebook from the CID log.

3 - i plugged my ipod into the TG5571M and recorded my own ringtones! very easy and very cool. the sound isn't hi fi but it's good enough and certainly beats the supplied ringtones. you can record ringtones from any device that takes a standard mini plug. the ringtones play through the phone for previewing and recording and there's an indicator letting you know how much recording time you have left for each ringtone. if you make a mistake you just hit retry, and it erases the bad ringtone and is ready to record again. i've got the intro to teenage riot by sonic youth selected at the moment.

4 - the panasonic claims that it can learn your call preferences - that is whether you need to dial the area code or a 1 - and then it saves the number accordingly from the caller id info. still haven't tested this but everything else works...

oh yeah the basics - the KX-TG5571M has an excellent speaker phone on the base and the handset, a clear out going message (although it sounds a little fuzzy on the play back speaker, it's clear when you call in). and the reception is excellent - no digital feeback so far as with the at&t 5965C. my friends have commented that they prefer the sound on panasonic. although in my review of the at&t 5965C, i mentioned liking that handset better, in fact the panasonic handset is fine. the keys are smaller but they are large enough for me.

any complaints? a few minor things - i cannot save to the phone log from the redial log as i could with the at&t and i'm not too fond of the orange glow on the handset display - wouldn't it be great if you could change the color of the display and keyboard light the way you can change the color of the antenna light??? panasonic are you listening???

in the end though, i'm happy to have emerged from from the search for a decent cordless land line phone/answering machine combo with my sanity intact. the KX-TG5571M may not be as hightly rated at the at&t 5965C by consumer reports - but trust me, the features are implemented with intelligence and that makes it a much better phone.

[amendment 10/22/05 - i've the phone about a month now (the initial review was posted 9/05) there is one annoying issue on this otherwise great phone: caller id is given priority over the phone book. for example: say the caller id info is inaccuate or incomplete and you correct that in your phone book entry for that caller. even though you've made the phone book entry, the system always uses the caller id info to identify the caller.]

This phone has been great - we've had it for about 6 months now and have yet to run into any problems. I wanted it for two reasons: speakerphone and no interference with my wireless router.

The base and the handset both have speakerphones - this has been the most useful feature. Even if you left the handset in one room, you can still pick up the phone at the base using the speakerphone. The volume on it is pretty loud so you won't have any problems hearing. It comes in very handy when you are on hold and don't need to hold the handset.

It has a standard plug for headsets - it's not proprietary so you can go to any megamart and pick one up.

My previous Panasonic phone still worked but interfered with my wireless router. I do not have any issues with my network now. Everything works as it should! Be sure to check what frequency your network runs at before buying any cordless phone.

This phone also functions as a baby monitor. It's not as loud as I would like it, but it works. This phone has a lot of other features that I haven't used. I don't have caller ID anymore, but it worked nicely when I had it.

This phone is great. My other two Panasonic phones still work but interfere with my network. I think they make great phones and I'd buy this one all over again.

My Sony system broke (handsets lost the ability to dial certain numbers), the replacement ATT system just sucked (voices faded in and out, tunnel sounds, etc.)

Then I found this system. It costs a heck of a lot more than the others, but it is well worth it. Everything just WORKS. The programming part is probably the most intuitive I've seen on a phone of this type. I barely cracked the manual and was able to complete all the setup with no frustration or confusion.

One reviewer states that messages are audible all over the house, however this can be resetl. It is a function of call screening. She can just set it to NOT screen the calls, and messages will be left silently.

I just have to say I am blissfully happy with this phone. After problem after problem with other systems, I was afraid that the technology just wasn't out there. PANASONIC got it right with this one.

I had a perfectly well working Siemens phone system with several handsets. I guess the batteries wore out over the 4 years that we had the phones and during a black out the system died on us. The Panasonic has made for a decent replacement but not perfect. (They no longer make the Siemens phone system in the US).

I live in a ranch and the phone just gets fuzzy or disconnects when I walk in and out of certain rooms. However, the phone works many places in my yard and I have a big yard. I have moved the base phone, reset the handset signal to the base, etc. with no improvement. The help desk was not of much help.

I do like the talking caller ID, the different ring sets, and the answering system. I do wish that when messages were left it would not be blasted out to the room. Overall if the phone didn't limit what rooms I could talk into then I would say this phone was perfect. And my wireless router for my computer seems to be working better too!

Returned it, the phone kept dropping calls from the other side of the house, and some times from the next room, no reception at all in the yard.

We used to have an old (8-9 years old) 900Mhz phone that had a really good range, could go all over the house and outside (even across the street) and still get crystal clear reception, but that phone was dropped too many times and stopped working :-(

However, even the replacement I got (Uniden 5.8GHz) was not much better as far as range, and we are returning that one too. So the search for a phone with a good range continues.

I wish someone would make a simple phone with a decent range, I really do not care for all the new bells and whistles such as color screen, calendars, ring tones etc.

All I need is a basic phone that wont drop calls from the other side of the house, with a speaker on both handset and base, keypad on base (so I can make calls without the handset) and an answering machine with 30 minutes of recording time (and decent quality, so I can understand the messages left on it...) long battery life and auto redial. phone book is nice but not mandatory.

We had an old Panasonic expandable cordless phone which was great except for the battery life, and we kept having to replace handsets. So we got a Motorola SD something or other and I hated it (if it's possible to hate a phone). The sound was awful and a lot of messages didn't record or were so quiet we couldn't hear them. So after having thrown all the boxes away and a few months of misery, we got the KX-TC5771M and it's fantastic!! I love everything about it!

It's small, sound is great, messages are clear, the handsets are well designed and comfortable. And you can program the ringer to play music for certain incoming calls, so whenever my husband calls, his favorite song is the ringer! Can't say enough good things about this phone. It's great to be able to delete messages from the handsets, and the handsets have a mute button which I have been wanting for years.

Discount Jungle was the merchant - great prices and really fast delivery (two days I think). I'm really happy with the whole purchase.

I'm not sure if the previous reviewer has a different model or not but there is indeed a flash button. Once you are on a call is the left menu button on the LCD screen. Those who are quite familiar with cell phones will spot it quickly.

I haven't had the phone for more than a day but so far i'm fairly happy. It took a while to find a phone with all the features that I needed but this has them all.
Pros:
1) Base station with speaker phone (hate it when i can't find the cordless)
2) a MUTE button! Very few phones have this these days but it is very important for my home office.
3) 5.8 GHz that won't conflict with my wirless.
4) cell phone like features (customizable ring tones, phone book, "missed calls list")

Cons:
1) The caller ID isn't very smart, even if you have the number stored in your phone book it still shows/says the name that is given over the callerId resulting in a lot of "Cellular Caller" type of stuff.
2) The center rocker switch activates the menu instead of the phone book. This time cell phone users will find this counter-intuitive.
3) No handset speed dial. There is one for the base, but one not the handset.