Telephone Reviews

Well, like all other 900mhz DSS phones I've heard, this one has poor sound quality (I had reason to hope since I own one of Panasonic's excellent 900mhz analog phones). The sidetone isn't as bad as what I've heard in other 900 DSS phones, but it's still there and the sound isn't close to analog. I called my wife as a test, and she said it sound like I was talking in a box. Alas, for those of you wanting a phone with digital security that sounds good, I have no answer. The Panasonic 2.4gig phones sound good, but are apparently not fully secure as they transmit partially in analog... sigh.

In my opinion, a 'good purchase' is something that you enjoy using, and are pleased that you purchased, every time you use it. For me this phone (and other similiar Panasonic designs) is not that. The reason is better stated by another reviewer 'Matt'; its the ear piece. Everytime I use this phone, I am constantly having to find the listening area. Despite the phone's acceptable performance (good/not great) the ear piece is a constant! annoyance. ={

I have been the historical victim of over priced "neat looking" cordless phones that would not let me roam more than 8 ft from the base when my computer was on. My whole world changed when this phone ended up in my lap thanks to my engineering brother who was sick of me putting down the phone 20 times during a long distance call to go get something even though I was on a crdless phone. With this PANASONIC DSS phone, I am not only free to move around my apt, and my apt building but I can also roam about 2/3 of a block away in incredibly dense population without loosing the person on the other end. The sound, compared to everything else I was using, is clear, although it is probably not as wonderful as a land line but is that a big surprise? I think it is worth every penny. I am replacing all the phones at my folks place with this one-gigarange is overated.

Granted, the sound on these phones is good. However, what good does that do you when the ringers are so low, you don't hear them ringing? There is no base ringer and although they give you 6 rings to choose from, none of them are any louder then the others. This system is very basic...no frills. I would advise against buying this phone.

Even though I have every volume setting up on high, I still miss calls because I can't hear the ring! Other than that, the phone is easy to use and we use the extra handset in the workshop.

This is an excellent phone. The clarity of sound from the receiver and the answering machine is the best we've found. Although the volume isn't adjustable it is plenty loud. If anything we would like it to be softer so it doesn't wake up the kids. We would highly recommend this phone as a multi handset with an answering machine.

I agree with the previous review. This phone cord worked twice. Now, it only retracts about half way, and keeps getting worse. I'm returning it for a refund. Don't waste your time with this.

I am on my second one and I will be returning this one also. Both of them worked once and then would not retract fully after that. I was so mad I almost threw it against the wall. I thought the first one was a defect, but then when I got the second one I realized it was a design flaw... If you buy the Targus one keep your receipt because I guarantee you will be returning it. What I don't get is how Targus has the guts to release this product and also put on it: Satisfaction Guaranteed. What a joke...

This is wonderful for laptop users that travel or like to move your laptop around a lot. If I leave my laptop somewhere I hate having to worry about tripping over wires and wires everywhere just look bad. This is really small and compact! Perfect for traveling too. I've used it for about 8 months now and it hasnt had one problem...it still recoils well!

This product is misrepresented as a 640x480 resolution camera when in fact the packaging says 352x288.

This may be a good camera - but if you are looking for a 640x480, this is NOT it.

Basically, you get for what you paid for: a cheap webcam. Here are the things that I found out:

1. XP Drivers are provided, but they aren't XP certified.
2. L shape piece felt cheap. It is hard to make it stable on the top of my laptop. Using the taped clip probably improves the stability, if you don't care about having the clip permanently attached on your laptop.
3. Some of the software came with the package don't install under XP.
4. Performance is bad, comparing to other webcams, and quality is so-so. Even at the highest frame rate, you still see the "fast-moving" object effect.

Overall, it is a cheap webcam, so don't expect too much.

THIS WEBCAM.. MICRO INNOVATIONS IC400C, IS A GREAT WEBCAM TO OWN. THE WEB PICTURE IS VERY CLEAR AND BEAUTIFUL. I LOVE IT WITH MY WINDOWS XP.

Too bad this product does nothing for you considering that it is usually the phone system in your commuinity that will determine what your connection rate will be. This little device will do you no good what so ever once it hits the phone line INSIDE your house in the walls. Want more info go to your ISP.

I was hoping that these cables would help me keep at least a 28.8k conection but it does not and I still get bumped off the net. I would have to say from my experance and what I have read that your connection speed depends a lot on how good the phone co. wires are and how far you are from the phone co.

This particular cable is better than the standard stuff, in the sense that if you've got a long distance you need to pull the line then you will not suffer as much signal attenuation (loss) as with the regular lines you'd probably get with your analong modem or dsl modem. However, the quality of line to your house from your isp's switch center is also very important and will limit the speed in which you realistically connect at. With that in mind, if you're pulling line long distances you should probably consider these cables otherwise if it's something along the lines of 5 or 10 feet, it's not much of an issue unless you like the colors like I do hence the 3 stars.

PROS:

1. Nice size handset is easy to hold, and eliminates background
noise amplification of smaller handsets.
2. Good size buttons make dialing easy.
3. Easy to read display is a help.

CONS:

1. Panasonic is notorious for short battery charge, and this model
is no exception. Max of 36 hours in standby, and discharges
rapidly when you use it.
2. Very short low battery warning. It can go from first warning
beep to dead in under a minute.
3. Sound quality is only fair. Picks up lots of interference, but
not as bad as the 2.4 ghz that it replaced.
4. Factory set ring which is set so low that the phone can't be
heard unless you are near it.
5. Durability is not good. Have had it for 10 months, and for
over a month the charger has not worked right. Soon to head to
the landfill.

If you don't use this phone much, this model may work. If you are
a heavy user, due to battery problems, it will be useless.

The reception was great but I had to buy 3 different batteries over the course of a year. It would sit on the base unit all night, I'd make one call and it would be out. I would also have to shake the phone sometimes for it to receive a signal. Not a great phone.

I wanted to buy a basic cordless phone - I didn't need all of the fancy features like answering machine, etc.; it needed to be wall mountable and I wanted something that had a good range. After reading reviews for many products, I was going to with the Uniden EXP-371, but I wanted to see them firsthand before buying something. This phone costs about twice as much as the Uniden, but as they say, you get what you pay for. The Uniden 371 looks and feels really cheap. This panasonic has a nice look and a sturdy feel. As far as range, I walked out to my mailbox which is about 100 feet away and the sound quality was still great. As far as battery life, the manual recommends not to store the handset on the base once the unit has completely charged up. As with many rechargeable battery products, continuously charging it shortens its life. But one great feature of this phone is that there is a "Handset Locator", so you can find your handset if you misplace it. I am very pleased with the phone.

when someone calls and thenhangs up, the machine will not hang up - then the voice comes on from the telephone company - if you would like to make a call -- then the warbelling dial tone which the machine records.
Thompson can not fix it

do not buy

After taking this phone out of the package I was immediately impressed. It was user friendly and a pretty major upgrade from what I was using before as the answering machine and caller ID were features I needed in one model. The answering machine has very poor sound quality, but I thought "Hey, who cares about the answering machine".

Before I knew it I realized the phone did too. I changed channels, moved the base, walked around...but nothing helped. While you could turn the volume up, it sounded as if the person on the other end was holding a towel over the receiver. Not only that but when I talked there was a static echo. Sure I could get used to it, but it irritated me so much because my other cordless phone was clear as a bell....that I decided to take it back for a refund. The features were great, it's too bad the sound quality sucks. They should allow you to test models in the store before getting home.

I got this phone about 2 months ago and I was a little skeptical if it will work at all after reading some of the reviews here at Amazon. But I must say I feel pretty satisfied with my purchase. The phone works great; I have no problems with voice quality or anything for that matter. It has nice ringer features though it lacks ringer volume control, which would be nice to have. Overall it is a nicely featured phone for the price and if you don't want to spend $100 for caller id and answering machine go for it.

Bargin phone, horrible sound. I am always trying to increase the sound button and telling people to speak louder, they are always telling me to quit yelling. Looking for a new phone.

It was not as bad as I thought. Sound quality is fine for the price of the phone.

Good combination of of price/performance. It's not a $$ phone, but it works fine.

I love the phone and its features, but the battery fails on you quite often. After overnight charging, it won't last for 3 minutes. After a few days of this, the battery completely fails. We ended up getting a new phone

I have had this phone for several months and found it to be of very poor quality. The phone regullary just cuts out where I cant hear the person on the other side, and have to change channels. There is always a hissing noise on the phone and very often crackling in the background. I have two different phones of this model and have the same problem with both of them. The phones also say out of range alot, even though they are only 2 feet from the base. I advise against this phone.

I appreciate all the comments on this review board. They were a big help to me in deciding which phone to buy.

This phone works very well and we are pleased with the purchase. We use the phone as our primary home phone and also during the day for a home office. I've noticed slightly different tonality compared to our other phones, but the reception is clear throughout the house and in the yard. The features I've used so far have been easy to use.

The only drawbacks so far have been (1) the lack of a mute button - particularly when using the speaker phone; (2) the ringer can't be turned completely off; and (3) making use of some of the phone features seems a bit complicated, so I haven't bothered.

This answering machine is junk. The sound quality is so poor I am embarrassed to use this machine. When an incoming call is received, my recorded greeting will not activate-the phone will ring several times but the greeting will not answer the call. Yes, I have checked the settings or functions on the machine. Moreover, I bought this machine on the Panasonic name alone. It was a mistake. Look elsewhere for an answering machine, my fellow buyers.

I bought this machine to replace a broken AT&T product. I have found the reliability of GE and AT&T answering machines low (none has lasted more than 2 years), and I chose the Panasonic based on Amazon recommendations and the brand name.

It has been a disappointment. The most serious problem is tge poor sound quality: much worse that the one it replaced, so much that I cannot decipher several messages.

The ergonomics are also inferior to my previous answering machines. The most common functions ("play new messages", "erase", etc) use small buttons, lined among other functions; the LED display is very dark; etc.

This product is not worth the price.

I bought this machine over two years ago and have had no problems with it. It was definately worth the money!