Customer Reviews

Panasonic KX-TG5110M 5.8 GHz DSS Expandable Cordless Phone with Answering System and Dual Handsets

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(25)

 

 

I waited for this phone to come out for what seemed like forever. I was tempted by other 5.8 Ghz phones, but none of them really measured up. Some were not true 5.8 (2.4 one way and 5.8 the other), the others could not use both handsets at the same time or share a phonebook (*cough* Uniden *cough*). I must tell you, when I got this phone, it was worth the wait.
Pros:

The buttons are very responsive.
True 5.8Ghz phone
Excellent sound quality
Shared phonebook between base and other handsets (you can transfer each number individually)
Almost lifelike speakerphone quality (best that I've heard so far)
Redial of the last 5 made calls
3 mail boxes
Phone conference between handsets and/or base
Call transfer between handsets and/or base
Backlit display and buttons
Privacy button, so other handsets cannot join (if you wish)
Mute button (where have you been all my life, no more covering the mic with a hand)

Cons:

Huge handset (when compared to earlier Panasonic models)
No clock on the handset display (AT&T and Uniden have this feature)
Can't figure out how to erase messages from handset (maybe its just me)

Bottom Line:

I love this phone. Definitely worth the wait. Best panasonic so far and by far the best 5.8 Ghz phone out there right now. (not the cheapest though)

Take a close look at all of these reviews. Most of the old reviews are excellent and they gradually get worse as you get towards the newer reviews. This is a direct indication of this phone's reliability.

I've had the phone for about a year now. My first review was 5 stars. My current review is a GENEROUS 3 stars.

This phone is loaded with great features, the speakerphone is excellent, and the reception has been good in my 3 level house (it even works when I go to my mailbox which is over 30 feet away).

The main problem is the battery life. At about 10 months the battery life began deteriating rapidly and I had to replace both batteries. Very annoying.

I've also noticed some other reliability issues - like the ringer breaks up now when there's an incoming call. Also, the speaker phone doesn't seem to work as well as it used to. The speaker seems to break up a little.

If you don't mind changing the batteries every 8-12 months than this is a good phone for you. Personally I would recommend a newer model with a NiMH battery.

I bought and tried three different 5.8GHZ phones available on the market... Uniden, VTech, and the Panasonic. The following is what I found:

Uniden
The Uniden looks good, but only performs decently. The handset is a bit big and clunky, and fairly heavy too. The worse feature of the phone is the ear piece. It sounds very tinny and not really that impressive for a phone of this quality and price. It's like talking to someone with a tin can up to your ear... all treble and no bass... doesn't sound natural. Probably the worse sounding ear piece I've ever heard on a phone.

VTech
First of all, it doesn't truly utilize 5.8GHZ technology... it's 2.4 one way and 5.8 the other... so this still can cause problems with outside interference and computer networks. The phone performs fairly well, but there was nothing that special about it's performance or features. A 2.4GHZ phone for more than $50 less would perform the same.

Panasonic
WOW! BY FAR THE BEST PHONE ON THE MARKET. I honestly found no flaws with this phone. Great range (further than the other two), never experienced static once, great sound and clarity from the ear piece, really nice answering machine and caller id features, very clear displays,.. the lists goes on. Just an all around great phone. I'm glad I tested them all out to see what was the best bang for my buck... the Panasonic 5.8GHZ phone blows the other 5.8ghz phones out of the water... it's not even close. If I hadn't tried them all, I may have been satisified with the other 2, but having tried the Panasonic, I wouldn't even consider the Uniden or VTech phones... they are mediocre in comparison to the Pansonic... yet cost the same price.

Go with the Panasonic... I love it. Best phone I've ever owned.

I wrote some tips based on problems noted in other reviews as well as some items that surprised me after I got the telephone home. We had a nice telephone before, but this one has several features that we had not seen before. Here are some items, followed by the page number in the manual for further reference. I noticed that the manual is available on the product page. If any of these items seems very important, then I suggest you check the manual for more details.

SETUP

=>Although you can connect 8 handsets total, only four can be used at once. (page 24)

=>The privacy button, when pressed, prevents others from joining the conversation on any of the extensions to this telephone. (page 45)

=>You can copy all the items in the phone book to another unit. (page 38-39)

MESSAGES

=>If someone calls and wants to leave a message after you have answered, you can transfer them to a mailbox. (page 57)

=>You can check messages from the handset. (page 54)

=>You can erase all messages or just one. (page 56)

=>The light only blinks for new messages, not for all new calls. If you received calls, it says "received calls" on the LCD screen. The blinking light issue for all new calls was the only thing that we hated about our last Panasonic phone. I couldn't find where it talked about this in the manual, but I tested it several times.

=>There's only one thing about the telephone that didn't make sense. There's a button right next to the blinking light that lets you know that you have a new message. That made me think that was the button to push to play back messages. Wrong! That button turns the answering machine on and off, that's all. To play back a message press the number of the mailbox, 1, 2 or 3. (page 53)

=>You can set the playback speed to slow playback... nice for writing down telephone numbers. (page 55)

=>Stored messages are not affected by power failures. Messages are saved until erased. We lost our power for five days due to weather. When the power came back on, our messages were still there. (page 22)

CALLER ID

=>It's very easy to erase all the items in the Caller ID list or just one. (page 33)

=>If you subscribe to Caller ID, the date and time are set automatically through the Caller ID information service after the first telephone ring. I unplugged the phone, this worked. The manual does warn that the time might be wrong after a power outage, but we have not had problems with that. (page 17)

MAILBOXES

=>We don't use the multiple mailboxes and had some concern about that. As it turns out, that doesn't matter, the calls automatically go into mailbox one and we just don't use the others. (page 50)

=>You can password mailboxes 2 and 3 to prevent anyone else from accessing the messages. (page 51)

GENERAL COMMENTS:

There are several other features that we don't use, like the monitor function. I tested it, though, and it seems to work ok. When you call the other phone to monitor, it doesn't ring, but the monitored handset does say "room monitor" on the LCD screen.

The handset is longer than my old handset. So if I hold the telephone with the mouthpiece lined up like I'm used to, then the sound is faint. But if I line up the earpiece with my ear, then I can hear fine. Until I did that, I thought the volume was too faint. It felt a little awkward until I got used to it.

The manual is straightforward, complete, and easy to follow. There is a good list of troubleshooting errors that refers you to a page. Great index. The one thing that I don't like is that some of the methods to complete functions are slightly different on the base than on the handset. I basically only use the handset, so that has not been a big deal.

I bought this telephone because I have a wireless headphone that uses the 2.4 ghz frequency. I wanted to be able to use the headset while others were talking on the telephone. For that, it works great. We owned another Panasonic telephone. This one is much easier to use. I like this telephone quite well and highly recommend it.

Let me tell you why I bought this. Expandability, features, speakerphone, intercom, usable distance. In short, if you need any of these features...get this phone system. All of these work well in my house. I'm buying at least two more extensions today to make a total of four handsets.
I've owned many Uniden phones. I've bought and returned Sony and other Mfr. phones. I've researched and bought the the Siemens 4215 phone for my family. However, I have to say this is a better system. I'm a design engineer with a strong pension for quality products.

This phone can reach into our steel pole barn with no apparent loss of signal (200+ feet away) through brick, glass and steel. I stood on the other side of the microwave (from the base station) that used to render my 2.4 Ghz unusable...it had no effect on this phone. I have more trials planned. I bought this at 6th__ [local website][local website].

Cons: Weird optional ring tones, standard Panasonic long antenna. Reorganizes phone list alphabetically (might be changable) after entry. Handset is a bit slick (should change over time)
No time display on handset LCD, however, does record Caller number and time of call on each handset. LCD screen is okay but not as easy to read as my AT&T 6310 GSM cell phone (very good contrast and illumination)

Pro's: Numerous. 11 day standby. LCD tells you in text when phone is done charging. Battery cannot be overcharged. Very good sound quality..it lacks the digital reverb of my friend's older Panasonic phone. Hold and intercom functions. At least as good sounding or better than all our previous phones. Speaker phone sounds very good but haven't used it too much.

In short, find your best price and get it. At [money amount]you could spend 50% more and get a piece of garbage with a lot less features.

I recently returned my Uniden 448-2 to pick up this phone. Here are some of my reasons for the change:

The TG5110M is expandable up to eight handsets vs Uniden's two. This is a great feature for those with families or if you'd simply like more cordless phones around the house. I also enjoy the intercom feature that allows you to page any one of the eight optional handsets or the base unit individually. Want to talk to Sarah in the family room? Press intercom then the number of the family room handset. It's really user friendly and convenient. I also like the speaker phone on the handsets. Tired of holding the phone while talking to grandma for hours? Set the phone on the couch and talk from a distance. A really cool feature.

As a fair reviewer I also have a few gripes. For one, there's no speed dial. With the Uniden you can press one button to dial a number, and with the Panasonic you have to scroll through the phone book. There is also no distinctive ring option that some cordless phones have. I also have a problem with the design. This phone seems very bulky and heavy compared to most cordless phones on the market. It doesn't feel comfortable in your hand. I also think that the talk and off buttons should be backlit. Some have complained about battery life, but unless you plan on talking for over four hours straight it shouldn't be much of a concern. Hey, you have at least two of them, switch!

Bottom line, this isn't a perfect phone, in fact I don't think it's enough phone for the money, but it's not terrible either. It has some nice features and would make a great addition to any household.

This is a flexible, easy to use phone system which has a number of valuable features, is an excellent design, but has some flaws in its execution you've got to live with.

There are plenty of bonus features, that other reveiwers have detailed, so I'm just going to touch on a few key points that you should consider when deciding to buy.

A KEY point in its favor: It is a TRUE 5.8 Ghz system. That is transmissions between handset and base unit are 5.8 Ghz BOTH ways. Most (if not all) other systems anywhere near this price range are 5.8 Ghz one way and 2.4 Ghz the other--but they're still marketed as "5.8 Ghz". Caveat Emptor. This is significant if your handsets are going to be near any wireless network you might set up. 2.4 Ghz Will interefere. Sometimes it's the computer that gets messed sometimes, it's the phone itself (AT&T for example, advises not to put their "5.8" Ghz phones near any wireless device, the phone experiences interference). So, if you've got a wireless network and you want to use a wireless handset near one of the componenets, for now this system is your only choice.

It's easy to set up, and relatively intuitive, although to take full advantage of its capabilities you need to play with it. Some things take a bit of getting used to. For example, the answering system will always play unheard messages first, not all messages in the order received. So, if there's a message you want to rehear that you've already listened to but you've got 5 new messages, you Have to listen to them first before you can get to the older ones. On the other hand, once you get used to it, it's actually kind of nice to always have messages you haven't heard come up first. There are a number of design calls the engineers made that are like that (for one thing, the robot talks too much--once you've learned their system it still treats you like a novice).

You can add up to six more auxiliary handsets.

3 mailboxes accessible remotely or from any handset is also nice in theory, but most folks may not use it.

I am quite pleased with my system, but there are a few downers you need to know when considering this unit.

1. Its range is not that good, about 2/3 of the range of the 2.4 Ghz GE system I replaced. Still more than adequate for homes, but I can't take my handset to the neighobr 2-3 houses down and use the system as I could with the 2.4 Ghz I replaced. Unfortunately, this is one of the laws of physics in radio. The higher the frequency, the less the range for a given power output. True 5.8 Ghz phone systems will not have the range of a 2.4 Ghz system. In fact, a Good 900 Mhz will outrange them both.

2. For whatever reason, Panasonic chose Nicad batteries for this system. Maybe to hit a price point, but this is a Serious limitation. Nicads don't retain their charge all that long or have a great shelf life. They also have "a memory". In other words, if you recharge the handset when its 1/4 depleted, pretty soon that length of time (1/4 of its capacity)will be all the battery will last before it needs to be recharged again. In fact, Panasonic's instructions say once charged, to leave the handsets Off their charger/stands (or I guess unplug the charger/stands) unitl the handsets show they are nearly depleted ("charge for six hours" shows in the screen). This is the biggest limitation of this system. However, there is an easy fix. A number of manufacturers make NiMH replacements for Panasonic Nicads, e.g., the Eveready ER-P111. RUN and get NiMH batteries for this system, it totally transfroms it. But allow that you're going to have to spend $15-20/handset to do this. I did, and it was worth it. Panasonic says that their next 5.8 Ghz system will have NiMH, but not sure when it's coming out. Since I bought this sytem, a slightly different looking model with a different model number has come out, but it also uses Nicads. I expect this is just a cosmetic change--the real "next model" may not be out yet. So, plan to buy those NimH batteries.

3. The caller cannot leave a message of any length as can be done with most phones. You must select 1,2 or 3 minute maximum recording lengths for messages. Now the system only has a total of 15 minutes recording time shared between all three mailboxes. This includes the outgoing message. If you set it to 3 mintue incoming messages and you have verbose callers, you could find out that you can only hold four messages unless you purge often. My advice is to set the incoming message length to one minute, but Be Sure To Tell Callers This In Your Greeting because most people today are expecting an answer machine to allow infinite length messages.

So, a mixed bag. Good quality, but a couple of dubious design decisions. If you've got a wireless network, this is really your only choice (for now). If you get NiMH batteries and adapt to the way it works, it's a really good system, worth the money. I'm happy with it, but also know it could have been a really great system.

I've had the phone for three weeks now and I can't find a single thing to complain about. The sound is clear- no buzz, no static and I've moved the handset as far as 150 feet from the base station with no degradation in sound quality. Besides sound, there are two things I really love about this phone.

1. With just a few keystrokes you can copy a saved phone entry, or even an entire directory, from any unit to any other unit. That's a real time saver if you store 40 - 50 numbers in memory.

2. In today's world, when calling a business, it seems like it takes forever to get to a human being on the phone. Whenever I'm put on hold, I just press the speaker phone button on the handset and continue with whatever I'm working on at the time. The speaker phone volume on either the base or the handsets is more than loud enough for me to hear and respond when a human voice replaces the elevator music I'm usually forced to listen to. This feature saves both my time and my sanity.

The caller ID on this phone works as well as it does or did on any of my other phones so I think that Panasonic has definitely licked that problem. If you shop around, you can find this phone at pretty good discounts off list. I bet you won't be disappointed.

We purchased the base station and 8 total phones. Sound quality is great, but after a few months the batteries started going bad. At this point we have replaced all of the batteries at least once - and the new ones are starting to go bad.

Turns out they made a poor engineering decision to use Nicad batteries which are an outdated technology. The batteries basically stop taking a charge after a few months of use and have to be replaced.

We also had the LCD go out on 2 of the phones.

I expect all the positive reviews here are immediately after purchase. Wait a few months and your batteries will die.

Also, Panasonic's customer support is not helpful. I have asked them multiple times to just send us new batteries under warrantee. They will not do this - they claim they aren't aware that this is a common problem and they refer you to a service center and it's at your expense to ship them the phones when all you need is a replacement battery.

I usually do not write reviews, but considering what this system cost and my results I thought I would share them. Right out of the box the phone is easy to settup and easy to use. No problems with battery life and the reception was great. The phone has way more bells and whistles than I would ever use. I have only had the phones for 6 months. The LCD is shot on 2 out of my 3 handsets. When I say shot I mean blank.......no caller id, no phonebook no nothing on the display. I emailed Panasonic and got a response in a week. The told me to reset the phone by holding down 2,5,8,0 all at the same time plus numerous other steps. I did this, with no results. I emailed the folks at panasonic back and 45 days later still no response. MMMMM not exactly the customer service I would expect. I purchased the phones at a large wharehouse type retailer so I am working with them on an exchange. I have noticed by glancing through some of the reviews that the LCD display seems to be a repetative problem with these phones. At almost 300 bucks for the set......(including an extra handset) you would think the LCD would be more stable. Hope this helps.