Customer Reviews

VTech CS6229-4 DECT 6.0 Cordless Phone, Black/Silver, 4 Handsets

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Our Panasonic phones were suffering from heavy, ungentle use. We were happy with Panasonic, but we decided to try this similar and comparably priced Vtech set instead. Mostly we liked its appearance. The two sets are very comparable in appearance and ease of use. Set-up was equally easy. However, here are three features Panasonic had, that the Vtech units do not have:

1. Panasonic had an easy-to-reach menu item to directly access my messages at my phone service provider. Vtech lets me turn off the phone-base messages, but then I have to set up a directory entry to reach my provider-held messages or dial them each time.
2. Panasonic let me set ring tones for anyone on my directory ... not the Vtech units.
3. Panasonic offered the option of caller ID voiced aloud from the base unit.

Small differences, but I would have stayed with Panasonic had I known these were not available with the Vtech set.

Still, the Vtech set has one feature better than the Panasonic. It has a quick and easy way to alter phone log numbers to whatever format we need to call back or put them in our directory. Our state uses area codes that are not geographically determined. So, every call has to have at least 10 digits and many need a one added for long distance. Vtech flips through the options to let us pick the one we need ... very nice.

The last time I purchased a set of wireless phones was almost 10 years ago - a two handset set from Panasonic. The fact that they survived and functioned for a decade is a testimony to the brand. I ultimately decided to go with the VTECH phones due to the excellent reviews and 4-handset option. Even with the 4 handsets, the price I paid for the VTECHs was one third of what I paid for the Panasonics so long ago. Now that I've used the VTECHs for a couple of weeks, I can give my impression.

Good:
- The price! At just over sixty dollars, this was a great buy.
- Handsets are intuitive and easy to use. They have a simple onscreen menu that allows you to set features.
- Buttons and display are backlit with the press of any button.
- The answering machine works well and is also very intuitive.
- Individual volume and ringer control for each handset.

Bad:
- The handsets aren't as comfortable as the older Panasonics were. The speaker is just a flat section of the phone, rather than a full contoured ear cup.
- Very lightweight, which makes them feel a bit cheap. That said, if you can make something work at half the weight, then it's a plus, right? Still...
- The voice quality of the phones is only okay.
- The voice quality of the answering maching is rather poor.

Overall, I'm happy enough with the phones. And given the price, I feel that they were a good buy.

Please be kind enough to indicate if reviews are helpful.

Written by Arthur Bradley, author of "Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family."

This is my first review of a product.

We bought this set of phones to replace our old Panasonic cordless phone system.

Nice Features

- Program a phone number in one phone and it is available on all 4 phones.

- Date and time displayed on each phone.

- 10 Ring tones to choose from.

- Intercom system is great. You pick up say phone one, then press intercom, then punch in 2, 3 or 4 and that phone rings.

- Good range.

- Crystal Clear.

- Battery life seems fine.

- No interference with WI-FI, Over The Air Antennae, Cable TV, or computers in any way.

Hope this helps.
Clay

I purchased this system from Office Depot two weeks before Amazon dropped the price by $[...]. For the $$, this is an excellent system. It has been replaced by a newer model that has an orange backlight - but is otherwise identical to this. The newer model is about $[...] more, so this is a steal.

For cordless phones, the top of the line is Panasonic - period. You will find that all Panasonic systems are about 30%-40$ more than Vtech. The newest Panasonic DECT system has a very nice feature - they are powered by AAA rechargable batteries, which are found at any store. Typically, replacement proprietary batteries cost about as much as a new phone system...

The Vtech is a completely disposable system - cheap enough that when it finally breaks in a few years, you might as well buy a new one.

However, the Vtech has several completely useless "features":

1) when you turn off the ringer on a handset, it will not ring for any reason until you turn it back on. This means if you happen to misplace a muted handset, you can page it, but the LCD screen will merely light up - it won't make a sound. Every other system - including the Panasonic - will audibly page a lost handset even if it is muted. Panasonic goes one step further - if the battery is dangerously low on a muted phone, it will still give you an audible low battery chirp. How many times have you used the paging feature to locate a lost handset? With Vtech, you better not have it muted! Pure stupidity.

2) Panasonic has a unique ringtone for intercom paging than for incoming telephone calls. This is very useful. If my Vtech is rining, I don't know if it is an outside call (probably for my wife), or if my wife is trying to page me from another room. Vtech allows you to set a ringtone, but uses the same tone for paging and outside calls.

3) I just discovered this, and would change my rating to 1 star if I could. It is unforgivable in the year 2009. The Vtech has no battery backup on its base unit. It doesn't even have a battery compartment. If you have a power outage - even a brownout - you lose time and date. Your messages and outgoing message is saved, but really...no battery compartment? Every answering machine I've had up till now has had one.

Vtech Pros:
* Choice of many ring sounds
* Shared phone-book (store a number on one handset and all other handsets have it as well)
* Answering system displays number of calls
* Good talk time

Vtech Cons:
* Rediculous inability to locate a muted phone!!
* No battery backup - even a momentary power outage will lose time/date
* No unique ringtone for intercom calls
* Proprietary (expensive) battery
* Ni-Cad battery (most phones have at least Ni-Mh)
* Upper buttons (speaker phone, talk, hang up, flash) are not backlit
* Backlight is not very bright. Funky domed number buttons are hard to read because domes act as magnifying lens.

In contrast, the only con with the Panasonic is that it has a shorter talk time than most phones. It has a signal boost for clearer sound, but it drains the battery lilke crazy.

EDIT: As I write this review, Costco just started carrying the 4-handset top of the line Panasonic DECT system (KX-TG6444T) - they literally added it today. The display is HUGE, and easily readable. They are asking $[...], which is $[...] less than Amazon and everywhere else, but still $[...] more than this Vtech equivalent. Frankly, I think you'll be much happier with the Panasonic.

2nd EDIT: I added two more very nasty cons to the Vtech - no distinctive ringtone for paging, and no battery backup. For many, I think the absence of a battery backup will be a deal-breaker. There's no excuse for not putting an empty battery compartment in an answering machine these days.

Spend the extra bucks on a Panasonic. It's light years better.

I have to say I am extremely impressed by this product.

Yes there are some nuisances such as having to go thru the menu to change the ringer volume, after doing it a few times, it takes seconds to accomplish.

I love the speaker phone option and transferring calls options, I like being able to use more than one cordless phone at the same time unlike my older phones. I can't speak highly enough about the call quality. Crystal clear.

Range is good as well. One review complained about numbers rubbing off, the lettering is UNDER the buttons on my phones (which look very cool) so there is no way they could rub off. The color is black and silver, not black and white again, looks very sharp. I am very satisfied with this purchase.

2nd Vtech cordless phone system, last one for 5+ years, worked fine... decided to upgrade because of new DECT 6.0 quality connection... debated about another phone brand that "spoke" the incoming number out loud, but the reviews for Panasonic sound-quality were spotty. Most of the Vtech sound quality reviews were good, so this was an easy decision.

Sound Quality = Vtech

Features = Panasonic

My preference was to have crystal clear sound when moving around the house.

Oh, btw, bought from a sub-vendor to Amazon, 6th Street Camera and have always stayed away from NY vendors, but with Amazon's name fronting this sale, went ahead and pruchased... I've gotta say, received the item in 3-1/2 days, perfect condition, and great price. Won't hesitate to purchase from associated vendors as long as Amazon is the "big stick" that keeps them honest. In this case, complements to 6th Street Camera.

After years of disappointment using cordless phone and answering systems have found just the right product. One can give each handset a distinctive ring and volume level and when you program a number into one handset it goes to all - a first for me. I strongly recommend this system for anyone who needs to replace a home phone system. The handsets are pretty with large buttons and lightweight.

We are behind the tech advances almost always. We bought these so that we wouldn't have to go from room to room or outside to tell others about an incoming call. We like the features on this phone including the intercom. It's a fair price for 4 handsets. I didn't give 5 starts because the message light is very faint. However, you can activate a little beeper to let you know that you have new calls. Seems to work well outside away from the base so you won't miss any calls if you have it with you. We are pleased with this unit.

Received the bundle several weeks ago. The phones have really made life so much easier. Had a broken foot, so the intercom feature really came in handy. The sound quality is wonderful. I can't comment on the battery life yet since its too new, but the speakerphone feature is nice also. I've never had 4 phones before. Kind of covers all bases. Excellent phones.

I think this is good value - 4 phones with superior sound quality and range. As some of the other reviewers wrote, when this breaks down some years from now it will be time to get a new inexpensive set of phones. I can't justify spending a lot on something that might not last. I'm pleased with this purchase.

In our postage-stamp size lot multi-story home it was important to get phones with range due to vertical barriers. This phone set does the trick no matter where the base phone is connected. Like all such phones I've had, there are features I'll never get around to using. The main thing to me is to have reliable, quality-sound phone coverage throughout the house.