Telephone Reviews

I like the idea of this switch, and the way that you do not need to fumble with switches to go between headset and handset, or between telephone and computer, but I found this useless for voice-recognition, getting very poor recognition despite trying various different headsets, which led me to believe that the problem was the switch itself. However, it seems fine for telephone use, especially for the price.

If you're looking to buy a phone, don't put this one on your list. I've had it about two years and have had nothing but problems. The battery constantly needed recharging even though it had been replaced. The static was unbearable at times. Now, most of the buttons don't work and even though it's fully charged, it rarely works. Don't bother with this one.

While the Olympia OL5800 is packed with features and style, when it comes to function this phone fails. The Olympia's switch out earpiece plates block most of the ear speaker causing the volume to be extremely low even when using the phone's loudest setting. Further, for those who like to cradle the phone on their neck, the Olympia is designed in a way which makes this almost imposible. While it looks great -- the Olympia is not functional.

Purchased a similar model - KX-TX1460 series - in April 2003. Great clarity, good range. Happy all over. But, a scant 9 months later, the battery was dying. Panasonic customer service told me the expected battery life is 8-12 months.

When the phone is $25, why spend $16 a year for a battery?

I'm going elsewhere.

So corded phones have now joined the ranks of junk "consumable" electronics along with hair driers and toaster ovens? In my search for a decent 2 line corded phone with caller ID, I purchased and with great disappointment returned 2 AT&T models (once the gold standard of all phones!)and finally, several months into the process, exhausted and desparate, settled on this Panasonic. Unlike the AT&Ts, all of the features work, but there is no mute, no reserve power supply (for shame!)and the LED screen is impossible to read from any angle except from directly above. I do not recommend this or any other two line phone. The situation is pathetic!

I've enjoyed my Sony multi-handset telephone system, but after a year, I found the quality to be miserable. One handset will no longer register to the base unit, and on another handset, some buttons on the keypad no longer work.

My wife and I bought this setup in hopes of having more phones located throughout the house. That part worked out well. After approx. 3 months the caller id screens, which also displays the menu, quit displaying anything. Phones still work, you just can't see the number you are dialing, no big deal had to do this for so many years before. The volume must be constantly adjusted, it appears they have a feature built in to go to midrange volume everytime you answer the phone, not a bad idea, but as someone with a slight hearing problem it is quite annoying to have to increase the volume everytime I talk to someone. I tend to use my cell phone for local calls instead of the home phone now.

I wanted something retro for my living room and picked this phone. It looks great. Unfortunately, the positives end there. The receiver handle is poorly designed. The top edge (where your palm grips around it) is a very hard and sharp. My hand goes to sleep within five minutes every time I use it because it hits the nerves in my hand so hard. (Forget holding this phone between your shoulder and ear...) Also, the the silver trim on the mouth and ear pieces on the receiver are not tight, so you end up with lots of noise if you move the phone while you talk. Also, the cord between the base and receiver is so short that you can barely stand if you have the phone on a table and want to use it. All in all, a huge disappointment for something that really does LOOK cool.

We've been very happy with our VTech 2431 single-line 2.4MHz
phone system for the past few years, so now that we have
three lines this looked like just the right thing.
Unfortunately this system appears to have been designed by a
completely different team. The handsets are very large (too
large to fit into a pocket), the menus are more difficult to
use, the speed-dial feature is extremely clumsy, and the
signal quality is very poor, with lots of hissing in the
background. We've sent this one back and replaced it with a
two-line VTech 20-2431 system, which is much more like the
original 2431 and doesn't suffer from the problems of the
40-2421 series.

This is the worst phone I have ever purchased. I would not recommend wasting your money on this one. You cannot hear very well with it, it does not charge for very long use.

As told to me by a customer service rep. You can't use any of their phones in the kitchen or they will have problems.

I did not buy it from Target but just had to voice my opinion. I agree with all of the other comments regarding this phone. It looks cool and is cheap. I purchased it several months ago for $29 and got 2 separate $10 mail-in-rebates. It was not used much until recently when I found out that it is completely useless. Even when you are standing next to the phone, it often sounds like a mistuned AM radio. Forget about using it in another room. Pressing the channel button rarely improves call clarity. Though it looks like it is an ergonomic phone, when holding the earpiece straight against your ear, the mouthpiece ends up several inches off the side of your cheek. So you are unintellible to the caller on the other end. To compensate, you end up shouting or mashing the phone into your cheek to hear and speak at the same time. It has certainly been too long for me to return it. So it will be permanently retired to the hall of shame (i.e. garbage can).