Customer Reviews

Panasonic KX-TC1733B 900 MHz Cordless Phone with Caller ID and Answering Device (Black)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Having had a very negative experience with Panasonic's 2.4Ghz phone, I decided to go back to the 900Mhz model. I have another 900Mhz cordless from Panasonic that has given me great performance for 5 years, and this phone appears poised to provide the same level of performance.

Key benefits:
- Clear signal throughout my house and even outside 50-75 feet (to the mailbox and back!)
- Ability to turn on the speakerphone from the handset (which means you don't have to walk back to the base unit to activate speaker)
- Answering machine has plenty of recording time and (finally!) does not cut people off mid-message
- Clear digital display which is easy to read and faster in scrolling than the 2.4GHz
- Long talk time, without the handset getting too hot after a few minutes of use (another downside of the 2.4GHz)

Many people probably think that because 2.4GHz is "greater than" 900MHz that it is a better phone/value.. in my experience this is not the case. Panasonic delivers a solid 900MHz product that provides great value for the money.

My old 25ch Panasonic started acting up after 6-7 years of perpetual abuse, so I bought this as a replacement for both it and my old AT&T answering machine. I haven't activated caller ID yet, but I really like it.

In a 14x70 mobile home loaded with two computers, two TV's, two stereos, lots of flourescent lighting, a wireless X10 home control system, and a host of other noise sources, I get no noise at all. It still works well at my mailbox at least 100 ft away.

Nearly half the messages left on my old answering machine were hang-ups. If you allowed the phone to even think about a 4th ring, the machine would pick up. This phone lets me change the answering machine to 5 rings, doesn't seem to pick up until after the 5th ring, and lets me change the message length from three minutes to just one. Not only have 90% of the hang-ups disappeared, my sister has gotten a clue and no longer rambles on for 3-5 minutes before getting to the point.

I'd give it 5 stars if I had anything similar to compare it to or if it would record more than 15 minutes of messages. It is my first 900 MHz cordless, and I'm sure my next long backpacking trip or bike tour will exceed the maximum recording time.

I have two of these phones. One was a gift, I never would have bought two.

The sound quality is acceptable at times. At other times it gets a very hollow sound with an echo.

It consistantly picks up conversations from other cordless phones, which may mean that other cordless phones are picking up conversations from these phones.

Do your research before buying this phone. There are higher quality and more secure forms of communication than this phone, including, but not limited to, semaphore and smoke signals.