Panasonic DECT 6.0 Expandable Digital Cordless Answering System Review

Recently, I purchased a Panasonic KX-TG9342S cordless phone and answering machine. This phone uses Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) 6.0. This digital cordless phone standard is intended to decrease the interference from other wireless devices. In addition to the telephone handset which came with the answering machine, this phone came with two extra cordless handsets. The Panasonic Expandable Digital Cordless Answering System includes AAA nickle metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries for each of the three handsets.

The Panasonic Expandable Digital Cordless Answering System has many useful features. Using this phone, I am able to block numbers from up to 20 unwanted callers. This saves me money, as well, because I don't have to subscribe to my phone company's call blocker service. I also noticed that the Panasonic Digital Cordless Answering System blocked numbers, such as long distance and 800 numbers, that call blocker had always failed to block.

The phone also has talking Caller ID. If you subscribe to Caller ID through the phone company, the phone will announce the name or number of the caller when the call is being made. I found this feature very useful. I didn't have to run to the phone just to see who was calling. If the phone said it was "Out of Area" or an 800 number, I could just ignore the call and go about my usual business.

Another useful feature is night mode. You can program the telephone not to ring for outside calls during a specified period of time. You can also program a different night mode time span for each handset. I was plagued by telemarketers who would call around dinner time, so I programmed the handset so it would stop ringing at 5:00 pm. The resulting peace was blissful.

The Panasonic Expandable Digital Cordless Answering System also has 3 ring tones and 4 melodies to choose from. I found the melodies far less jarring to my nerves than the tones, and was very glad to have this feature. You can also adjust the volume of the ringer or to turn the ringer off on each handset separately.

The telephone answering machine itself was very simple to use. The answering machine doesn't play my greeting out loud while it's answering, as my old answering machine did. However, you can hear the caller as they're leaving a message.

The one thing that I didn't like about this phone is that when it blocks a call, it has to ring at least once before the call is blocked. The end result was that the unwanted callers still managed to disturb me even though I'd blocked their numbers. I coped with this by turning off the ringer on the phone at my desk, but leaving it on in the bedroom and living room.

This cordless phone system has been very helpful to our family, because we have only two functioning telephone jacks in our entire house. Before this, I was able to have a phone in the office and the bedroom, but was forced to do without one in the living room. Now my living room telephone requires no telephone jack, so I can move it wherever I have a spare electrical outlet. Also, the Ni-MH batteries don't have to be fully drained before being recharged. The phone handsets keep their charge long enough to talk for about 3 hours.

The Panasonic Expandable Digital Cordless Answering System has other small features that are very convenient. For example, the phone can set the date and time automatically using Caller ID. It also has an auto talk feature which allows the phone to switch to talk mode automatically when it's lifted out of the handset. You can set this feature to on or off, depending on your preference. The phone system also came with several belt clips. The base unit can also be used as a speaker phone, if you like. The Panasonic phone system also has an intercom that you can use to talk to other people in your home. However, I wasn't able to use it properly because my husband and kids wouldn't pick up the phone when it rang. You can also press a button to mute the phone during a call. You can hear what others are saying on the phone, but they can't hear you. It has a phone book, headphone jacks and a talking alarm clock. The phone also boosts the clarity of calls so that it's easier to understand what the other party is saying.

At $79.99, this telephone system was a bargain. It is so packed with features that it will have something for everyone. Overall, the Panasonic Expandable Digital Cordless Answering System is a good investment.