Customer Reviews

Panasonic GigaRange KX-TG5576M 5.8 GHz DSS Expandable Cordless Phone with Answering System and Color LCD on Handset (Metallic Grey)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I purchased the KX-TG5576M and an additional KX-TGA552CM handset six weeks ago and have it used almost daily since.

I have had to replace the set once because the handset battery was faulty (would run out of charge after about one hour of use). The replacement unit is a little better, but could still use more battery life.

Pros:

- Excellent speakerphone on the handset - callers say they cannot tell I'm on a speakerphone.

- The handset connects instantly after pressing TALK.

- Large Caller ID Memory (last 50 incoming calls listed)

- Has a BACK key so that you can back out of a menu hierarchy.

Cons:

- The handset display goes dark after a few seconds of using the handset. I suppose this is intended to be a battery saving measure, but it is very annoying when I want to check the number I just dialed, know how long I have been on a call, or use any other menu item like FLASH.

- The battery life on the handset is surprisingly short, especially when the handset speakerphone is used - it seems to need recharging after about two hours of cumulative use. My old Sony SPP-X90 lasted for weeks of speakerphone use before needing a recharge.

- I find the handset too small and slippery, and the speakerphone button is too small.

- No handset speed dial function, so you need to scroll through the phonebook for every number. The ability to program the number 1 through 9 buttons with press-for-one-second speed dial (like many cell phones have) would be a positive addition.

- If an incoming call is answered on one handset the other handsets display "Missed Call". They should have a way of knowing that a call was answered if not on that handset.

- I find the handset range to be less than 100 ft. in my concrete building

- The Voice Enhancer feature seems to do little except shift the caller's voice lower in tone, which can be more difficult to hear.

- Only PC/Wintel-compatible (not Mac) for the USB utility to change the wallpaper, ring tones, etc.

- It would be nice if the handset tracked all incoming / outgoing call histories (phone number, call date, time, duration) like most cell phones do.

- Only a 50-entry phonebook capacity - 100 or more entries would have been more practical.

Overall this unit does the job. They could have put in a larger capacity battery - even if this meant making the handset a little larger, which is too small to be easily held against my shoulder anyway.

We researched *every* expandable cordless 5.8 answering system before buying this one. The clarity is great, the range is great, the battery life is not that great but tolerable, and the amount of gadgetry is overwhelming but cool. I've spent a lot of time correcting all 50 imported Outlook phonebook entries because it doesn't dial a "1" before the LD numbers and the local numbers need the area codes removed for our local service. Kind of a pain, but nice once its setup. Pretty cool that you can load your own ringtones and wallpaper. We don't have Caller ID, so I don't know if those features work well or not. The room monitor feature is great, and so is the walkie-talkie feature. Checking answering machine messages from the handsets is SO handy, esp. in our 2-story house. The prices on this phone are starting to come down, so we're holding out for a few months before buying our 3rd & 4th handsets. The only big disappointment was - no battery backup for the base! It wouldn't have hurt them to put a 9-volt compartment in the bottom for that much dinero. We ended up buying a low-end office UPS for it.

I just purchased this phone and one additional 552M handset. For the last three years I have owned a Siemens Gigaset 4215 with 2 extra handsets. The Siemens is built like a German tank and operates about as smoothly. Very nice, probably will last forever, unique look and operation for that time period(you can add, using your own voice, a speaking caller id manually for all saved numbers/Panasonic now does it automatically with true voice recognition software for all incoming numbers), but clumsy with a green screen that always was tough to read. Once you hit 50 kids, visual assistance is sooo important!

In the past I had used Panasonic phones and after evaluating the new Uniden and VTech color phones I decided to go back to Panasonic. Excellent choice. Larger screen. Excellent range outside my home. Easy setup-sounds great on the base and handsets-simple software included for downloading screensavers or whatever from your computer(on my screen is a great Bijou Phillips not meant for children)-and a sturdy feel although not as sturdy as the Siemens phones which I may convert into self defense weapons. Maybe not as unique looking as the VTech/the Uniden kinda looks like my old Siemens/but nice nonetheless. We cant all afford Bang&Olufsen Beophones!!! One drawback, and I am too lazy to verify, I believe these NiMH phone batteries have "memory". The Siemens phones could be placed back in the cradle after every use. Panasonic recommends leaving the phone off the base unit until the battery runs down. I really hate that but there you are.

Now for the steak and potatoes. No doubt these will soon be on sale at all the local stores but on 9/11 both Best Buy and Sears had the base units for 179.00. Thats full retail. The handset at Sears was 109.00(20.00 rebate through Pan.) but neither store had the extra handsets in stock. That day Best Buy was offering an additional 10$ off on all add-on handsets purchased with a base unit, but charging 119.00(10$ more) for the 552M handset. Thanks for nothing Best Buy. Once again-not in stock anyway at the local stores(you could order and pick up at a later date). You gotta love these retail stores. If they have the newer item, camcorder or whatever, they dont have the battery, or the cord, or whatever you need for a complete system. Always trying to sell out last years junk first. If the manufacturer is playing hardball with the dealer on new items causing the customer to either wait or buy the extra accessories on their website as is very common with additional cordless phone batteries, why then does Best Buy, Circuit City, etc., allow this? WalMart would tell them sell it yourself! So I turn to good old Amazon figuring I can easily wait 1-2 weeks for delivery if the price was right. Well, the price was better than right. I got the base unit for 159.00. The handset for 109.00(20 rebate as above). I got an additional 1 time Kitchen and Housewares promotion code for 25.00 off???, not sure why they did that but no complaints here, no 6% sales tax(Fl), and free shipping. And the 5-9 day free shipping.....I ordered on Sunday and it arrived Wednesday morning. I admit thats a bit unique for Amazon but God bless 'em anyway. So I saved over 60$, never left the house to make this purchase(that in itself is always a fun experience-buying something from a salesman that usually has less than a clue about the product and goes from confusion to frustration to downright anger when asked numerous technical questions), and had my phones set up by Wednesday evening which is probably the night I would have been making my second trip to Sears or Best Buy for the handset.

Not everything on Amazon is the best price around. But once I joined I have yet to experience a problem with an order, shipping, billing, nothing at all. And I have bought everything from a guitar to Weber grill parts without a hitch. Check this phone out and you will like it.

After owning one of the early DSS cordless phones made by another manufacturer I expected this 'state of the art' phone to be even better regarding signal carry but whereas the old phone worked for unbelievable distances this one breaks up in my back yard.

The ad and description for this phone promises full-duplex operation, but the phone does not deliver fully-duplex operation. It does not allow two way simultaneous transmission of conversation. Thus, important phrases and sentences can be cut off when conversations overlap. The whole reason I bought the phone was for the FD operation. Now I'm stuck with a phone that doesn't deliver on its promises.

This is defintetly the best phone I have ever purchased. It is feature rich but very easy to use. The menu navigation on the phone is very intuitive - the best I have ever seen. It may have too many features, but you don't need to use them all if you don't want to. The software that comes with the phone is easy to install and use. It is very basic, but performs the functions that you want. I was able to import my names and phone numbers from Microsoft Outlook and then easily choose the ones that I wanted to download to the phone. The software allows you to download names and numbers, pictures and ring tones. The number of ring tones and pictures is adequate but you are restricted to only 49 names and phone numbers. This limitation is my only knock against the phone. Why not give the user the ability to trade off pictures and ring tones against more phone numbers, or dramatically increase the amount of storage for phone numbers - after all, it is a phone.

This is my third, and last, Panasonic telephone system. The instructions call for the use of buttons that are non-existant unless certain conditions are met. The "virtual button" only becomes visible as a command on the screen and guess where the screen is? Correct, next to your ear just when you need it. The memory is for incoming calls only when it would have been great to have a cell phone type call history. The lady at tech support, while trying to be helpful, could not understand me and I certainly could not understand her. We finally managed to get our points accross but I was left frustrated with the completely unecessary complexity of this phone system. Three stars for clarity, range and appearance. Lynn Stubblefield, Nashville, TN

I bought this one (KX-TG5576) to replace my old panasonic cordless phones (6 years), because the handset was broken into pieces. Since I had so much good experience with the company; I decided to get another one from panasonic. At the beginning, I loved this phone, it had all the features I needed and I could personalize the ringing tones and the displays. But right after the warranty period had run out, the handset died (handset lost link to base and speaker phone on the handset died). I didn't bother to fix it, so I got another model (KX-TG5571); one year later, the handset died again with the same problem. Then I bought another one from Panasonic, which died again now with the same problem. So it seemed that Panasonic has intentionally designed their products this way, so that they can continuously earn profit from their customers.

If you want to get a phone for extended life, don't buy Panasonic; unless you just want to enjoy the cool features.

Panasonic's website has no information on this phone. The KX-TG57XXX series phone seems to be the most current model. I do have the KX-TG5576M and it works fine. The "missed call" issue(previously discussed) is annoying as I have two other handsets and must clear them all.

This phone is well worth the price. Phone and answering machine both work great. Phone holds a good charge for a few days without being hung up. Great product. Would highly recomend.