Panasonic Kx-tg9343s Dect 6.0 Expandable Digital Cordless Answering System Review

I've owned this phone for about a month.For the most part, it's great.I have no complaints with it's reliability and clarity.

I bought it for
1) the DECT feature that won't interfere with our wi-fi and won't be interfered with by our appliance:this aspect works like a charm
2) the talking caller ID: once I had it on my last phone, it was hard to live without, and the feature works great
3) the dual keypad, because I'm forever misplacing the handset.I can still pick up a call or dial out without having to find the handset first (the handset locator featuresi great for finding it when you're ready)
4) all the "bells and whistles" that come with the answering system and additional handsets, like retrieving messages from a handset, sharing phonebooks between handsets, and using handsets as intercoms.For the most part, I am satisfied with all these features, and I've taken advantage of them often.

Here are the only drawbacks (mainly annoyances) for us (are you listening Panasonic?):
1) There is no option for an audible message indicator; with my old machine, I'd know there were messages from the moment I walked in the front door; now, I have to make a point of going to to the phone to look for messages--a tough transition to make.I nearly missed a job offer this way.
2) When playing messages back, the message plays before the date and time of the call are relayed; it makes more sense the other way around, to give the listener perspective before hearing the message.
3) While they might look really cool, the answering machine buttons are a bit confusing; not everyone is a techie and not everyone can read fine print on tiny buttons, particularly older people like my mother who wanted to listen to a message at my house and couldn't figure it out.
6) The handset locator feature requires you to press the intercom/locator button and listen for several seconds to a dial tone before the locator eventually starts beeping.This is not intuitive, and I had to consult the user manual to figure out how to use the locator.
4) The means by which the user chooses between call screening and no call screening is not among the menu items.Instead, it's done at the volume controls.Again, it's not intuitive and requires consulting the user manual.Even at that, the manual only tells how to turn it off, not on; the latter I figured out through trial-and-error.This should just be a simple menu item.
5) You don't have the option to hear the outgoing message when getting a call; this was one convenient way of knowing whether the caller has already hung up if you're deciding whether to race to the phone from across the room.
6) Perhaps nothing can be done about this next problem because of the technology used to make the handsets capable of communicating with the base phone to retrieve messages (a great asset), but when listing to messages at the base, I can't use the handset.So, if I'm hearing someone's message, and I want to call them back in a hurry, I have to wait until about 5 seconds after the last message plays back (or after I manually stop the messages from playing back) in order to start using the handset--even to look up the caller's number on the caller list or phone book, let alone start making a call.Annoying, but I can live with it for the benefit of getting the other features.

The bottom line is that this phone is great and has great features, but it lacks a convenience or two and is not as user-friendly as it could be.

Panasonic is the best at full-featured land-line phones, and I'm sure they can fix these few bugs.

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Product Description:
Dect 6.0 Technology; Expandable Up To 6 Handsets; All Digital Answering System; White Backlit Lcd On Handset; Call Waiting Caller Id With Talking Caller Id; Up To 4-way Conference Capability; Night Mode; Ringer Id; Light-up Indicator With Ringer Alert; Keypad & Speakerphone On Handset & Base; Handset Intercom & Locator; 50-station Shared Phonebook; Talking Alarm Clock & Battery Alert; Call Block; Lighted Handset Keypad ; Includes Nimh Batteries Headset Jack & Belt Clip; Wall-mountable (requires Optional Wall Mount Adapter); 3 Handset System;silver

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