Panasonic Dect 6.0 Black Cordless Phone with Answering Machine and ChoiceMail (KX-TG7434B) Reviews
Panasonic Dect 6.0 Black Cordless Phone with Answering Machine and ChoiceMail (KX-TG7434B)
- Call Block/Silent Mode/Night Mode
- ChoiceMail, Selectable Message
- Talking Caller ID
- Speakerphone on Base and Handset
- Expandable up to 6 Handsets
Panasonic KX-TG7434B Dect 6.0 Cordless Phone with Answering Machine and ChoiceMail
List Price: $ 149.95
Price: $ 164.87
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Tags: Answering, Black, ChoiceMail, Cordless, Dect, KXTG7434B, Machine, Panasonic, Phone, Reviews
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Comments (3)
The best of the best,
I think Panasonic finally got it right with this one, and I only have one (very small) issue with the phone. All in all, this is without a doubt the best cordless phone system I have ever used.
I had a previous Panasonic 5.8 gHz phone and loved it. One day after about 2 years of use, the base abruptly died, and none of the handsets would connect. I think it’s a sign of a strong manufacturer, though, that when one product dies the only brand that I would even consider again is the same one.
With the previous model, I had only a couple of small complaints: 1) when you received a call on one handset, it would still show “missed call” on all of the other handsets, and 2) you had to clear the missed call list individually on all handsets. Both issues have been corrected with this phone. All handsets now synchronize automatically when you review the call list, and only calls that you truly don’t answer show as missed calls. And there’s no more having to copy the phone book from one receiver to another, either. Changes on one phone are mirrored on all of the others.
The large display on this phone really sets it apart from others as well. When you program the time on the phone, the display acts as a second clock. And it’s readable from aross the room!
Speaking of readable, the large display also makes it very easy to see who’s calling. The phone does offer the talking caller ID feature found on other Panasonic phones, but we find it to be annoying. Thankfully, you can turn the feature off in the menu system.
And that leads me to my only complaint about this phone, albeit an extremely minor one. When you get into various menus, I haven’t found a way to go back one screen. For example, if I click into the caller list and then click on the individual entry, I can’t figure out how to go back to the caller list. I have to go all the way out to the main phone screen and then go back into the caller list. If there was just a simple “back” button, this phone would be perfect in every way.
Of course the purpose of a phone is to allow you to communicate clearly, and this one excels in that department. Connections are clear, and it is very easy to hear the other end. The previous phone had a “voice enhancer” technology that I found to be unnatural and annoying, and that (thankfully) is not present here. But it’s not missed.
I’ve had the phone down the street about 7 or 8 houses away, and the connection is still rock solid. We live in a typical suburban setting, and I’ve heard no interference or static at any time.
Also, the DECT 6 technology, operating on a lower frequency, does not interfere with our wireless computer network at all. And I’ve never heard any static from the microwave or any other electronic device, for that matter.
The real selling feature of this phone to me was the visual voicemail list. Since the base doesn’t have any kind of indicator as to how many messages are stored, the handset serves as an excellent way to navigate the messages. And you can listen to messages in any order, and you can save or delete them one by one as well. The fact that the messages are tagged with the caller ID info is great, too!
Oh, one other feature that I haven’t seen mentioned is that the keypad is lit. That makes for calling in a dark room to be painless.
All in all, this one is very deserving of the 5-star rating.
Likes: the large, well lit display; the message list (choicemail); automatic syncing of all handsets.
Dislikes: The lack of a “back” button in the menu screens.
[EDIT: Someone pointed out that you can indeed go back one screen in the menus. You just have to push the little joystick controller any direction, and the phone will return to the previous screen. Now the phone is perfect! Thanks for the tip!!]
[UPDATE: 5/2/10]
After using the phones for one year, I still stand behind the original review. These things are still working like champs. We had one of the 4 handsets lose a screen after a fall from the kitchen counter (must have landed *just* right that day, as they have taken a few tumbles in the year). That screen is now covered with leaked black LCD gunk, and we have that handset placed in the least used spot in the house.
The only other issue is that a bit of the black paint on the face of the units around the buttons has become worn around the edges, and the silver color of the underlying rubber / plastic is showing through. None of the necessary parts of the buttons themselves have worn off, and it’s just a cosmetic thing. Frankly, with the use the phones get, this is a minor issue at most.
Battery life is still good from the original rechargables, but we hang up most of the phones after each use back into the recharging cradles. The one…
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|If only I could combine Panasonic phones,
PROS:
The large display is awesome. Easily the best feature of this phone.
I also like that the missed calls and the new phonebook entries are synced throughout all the handsets. Now, you can check one and all the others remain in sync.
The Choice Mail is everything it claims to be and more. You can review your messages from any handset. It allows you to listen to all new messages, to all messages, or to review a list of all the messages on your screen. You can play and delete messages as you listen to them, or you can review the message list and delete them from there, without listening to the message itself. I found this handy when I was calling and calling home from my cell phone and must have left a half dozen messages for my sleeping hubby. When I got home, I just deleted them from the message list. This feature is only as good as your caller ID (or stored phone book) though. Often, my message list reads: Unavailable, Pennsylvania, International, Florida, or Unlisted. So, you’d have to listen to those messages anyways. One thing I’d recommend to Panasonic–when you go into the answering machine, you get a screen announcing the number of new messages and the number of total messages on the machine for about 4 seconds before you actually enter the answering machine setting. When I’m just reviewing old messages, it’s sort of annoying to wait for this screen to pass every time. It would have been better if the default first screen was the message list and there was an asterik or something to denote the new messages.
Many other handy features: The intercom system between the handsets is more prominently displayed and easily used. You can choose to turn on the announcer for the Caller ID so that a robotic voice intones the identity of the caller — but expect them to goof often on the proper pronunciation. The phone’s overall look is sleek and nice. The handsets are slightly smaller than other Panasonic models, though ever so slightly heavier. The phones also have a standard flashing light to indicate a new message. Reception appears good. It works throughout my house, even in the concrete-lined garage that has been converted into our rec room.
The LCD screen and the keys are backlit which makes viewing very easy. I often pick up the handset as a makeshift flashlight when fumbling for something on the nightstand. However, there’s no way to turn it off completely, so if you have an extremely light sensitive person sleeping nearby, you should take your call elsewhere.
Now the CONS:
The sound quality is not so good. I thought at first it was just phone calls to a particular friend who has had phone problems in the past. However, I started noticing that at least a quarter of my calls seemed to have a muffled quality. I found myself constantly pushing the volume button up, but it having not enough effect, even at max volume. Even in reviewing my messages, I could get a general idea of the caller’s message, but did not hear clearly enough to get the precise words. Seeing as to how this is the whole purpose of the phone, I am returning it and getting this older Panasonic DECT phone (KX-TG1034S) model, which is inferior in many ways (including the tiny display and the lack of Choice Mail), but has far far better sound quality. This appears to be a problem another reviewer has had as well. I do have a DSL line on my phone jack, but I use a DSL filter. I even tried switching the filter with no effect. I called my voice mail using both models side-by-side and using both the regular and speakerphone functions and the older model’s max volume is much much louder than this model.
I really don’t like the “mouse” button on the phone. It’s not ergonomic, though I imagine it is used to aid in making the whole phone smaller. It probably takes getting used to, but even after 3 weeks, I was not a fan of it.
Although you can easily save numbers to the phone book from your call list, you cannot do the same with the numbers you have dialed. I wish that the Panasonic people would put in an “add to phonebook” option onto the navigation screen on the redial list.
I also think that the Panasonic people could take a note from most cell phones and allow the user to begin to enter a phone number and then click “add to phonebook” rather than having to navigate into the phonebook, click add, then add a name first, then the number.
As you can see, most are minor grievances, but for the sound quality and low volume alone, I’m going to have to pass on this model.
If you found this review helpful, please let me know!
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|An Englishman’s home is his castle,
Back in the old days I lived in England. During my life there as far as I remember, I never hung up the phone on anyone (except maybe once on a member of the opposite sex, who deserved it!). When I moved to the USA in 1991 a strange thing happened. A woman from Consumer Reports called me at home, gave me some speech that I did not follow, and asked for a $150 donation. This somewhat confused me, as after I politely refused she kept talking and asked for a lesser amount. I finally realized I would have to do something I just wasn’t used to. I hung up on her. It was the first of many times. I have come to hate the interruption of telemarketers and other undesirables.
So how do you get rid of them? You can pay the phone company to block anonymous calls. You can pay the phone company for the feature to block the last number you received, but guess what, charities and some other categories cannot be blocked.
This Panasonic phone has the rare and extremely useful call block feature. When you get a telephone solicitor call you can save their caller id number in a call block list. Or you can manually input the number. If they call again your phone will not ring and they will get a busy signal. This is so useful I just don’t understand why it is not more prevalent. Of course it’s a feature that neither your phone company nor telemarketers wants you to have. I wish the Panasonic call block list was bigger; it is only thirty entries long. But thirty frustrated telemarketers is a lot better than none!
Another feature of life in the USA seems to be the occasional wrong number call at 3:00 am. The Panasonic also has a solution to this. Each handset can be programmed to Silent Mode. Silent mode turns of the ringer between two times that you specify. Mine are all programmed to turn off at 9:00pm and 7:45am. If a call I want does come between those times the handset will not ring but they can always leave a message. No more 3:00am wakeup calls! You can if you want program different handsets to go into silent mode at different times if you wish.
Now back to basics. The Panasonic phone is DECT6.0 which does not interfere with wireless LAN connections. The sound quality of the handsets is quite good with one exception. When using the speaker phone the people I have been speaking to have trouble hearing what I am saying. I have to hold the phone within a foot of my mouth for it to be usable. In other words, the handset speakerphone feature is useless in my opinion. This is the biggest negative with this phone. However, the Panasonic KX-TCA60 Hands-Freeheadset works well with these handsets. I normally use one of these and walk around the house with the handset clipped to my shirt.
The Panasonic KX-TG7434B phone and similar models is the top of the Panasonic 2009 cordless range. It is similar to the popular KX-TG6434T. The main difference as far as I can see is a more sophisticated menu system and a more upscale black and chrome finish. The handsets are actually the same size with the 7 series having a larger LCD screen and a four way directional button for menu navigation. I like the menu system on this phone. Any feature can basically be performed from any handset. Each phone handset has access to the same phone book and answering machine message list.
Gripe. Over 10 years ago I had a Sony digital corded answering machine with 30 minutes message storage. Here we are today when I can bet a 16GB memory stick for $25:00 and the Panasonic answering system can only store 18 minutes! Come on guys spend an extra cent and double the memory! I can’t penalize Panasonic for this however, because other manufactures are no better in this area.
So, to summarize, the Panasonic scores top marks for usability and convenience. The call blocker feature and the silent mode features put it above anything else out there. The speakerphone is a minus, but it still gets 5 stars.
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