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144 of 147 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nice 2nd Gen phone system, May 19, 2005
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.
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77 of 77 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My best Panasonic cordless phone yet..., June 17, 2005
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.
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
solid phone, but handsets are like separately bought extensions, not a well-integrated system, October 9, 2005
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.
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