Panasonic KX-TG8424EB Colour DECT Quad Telephone with Answer Machine - Black

Just taken delivery of this new model. Initial impressions excellent. Was concerned (from images) that it might be too shiny - not so - piano black finish is bordered by silver and is fairly discreet. Seems to resolve the few issues raised on it's predecessor (re dimming etc), save that still cannot name extensions - but as they are numbered 1-4 this is not a problem, especially as each handset can have it's own ringtone (from 20, not 32 as stated). Set up couldn't be simpler. Belt clips, answerphone and speaker on each handset makes for top rate usability. Another very useful feature is autotalk - can set the phones to answer on pickup rather than scrambling for right key/any key in the middle of the night Also has voice enhancement feature for the hard of hearing. Only downside - optional wallpapers are fairly iffy!

Afternote:
Once activated can only switch speaker off by pressing the green telephone (start) key! [The Rest of the World uses 'toggle keys'; Panasonic logic is that to return to the handset mode use the handset key]

I bought these phones to replace absolutely appalling Philips phones that were completely inaudible.

These phones look better than they do in the pictures. The fronts are gloss black with a good looking metal surround. The backs are matt black and easy to grip. They come with belt clips in case you want to take one with you in the garden etc. The buttons are clear and light up and I like the wallpapers, the blue sea one being the best.

The phones are very plug and play. I was impressed how easy they were to set up. I picked them out of the box, put them in the chargers and that was it. no registering with the base station etc. They all registed and worked right away. The stands that they come with are fine if a little light, and there is nearly no way for the phones to get knocked off the charger accidentally (as happened on the dreadful Philips).

The phones battery life is very good, no worries there having had a couple of hours of phone calls without much battery loss. That is good. The range for calls is not bad however I have had problems with the range listeing to messages. The phone furthest from the base station (4 rooms away) can't hear the messages in the handset. They stutter and break up unless I walk into the hallway. On the odd occassion I have had problems with that handset on calls as well but it is generally passable. My previous handsets have not had problems at that range though.

Having used the phones for a while I eventually bought a range extender (the RTX4002) which sorted out the stuttering problem. The DECT repeater is not easy to set up but I have written instructions on how to make it work for these phones in my review of the repeater. I didn't buy the Panasonic repeater as it is so expensive and the user reviews were terrible. It took about 4 hours of trial and error to get the RTX4002 to work but once done works fine and makes a huge difference. If you follow the instructions in the review it should take about 5 minutes to set up though as I jotted down what made mine work.

The phones also have useful features. If you are on a call and another member of the family wants to join in they just pick up another handset and push the dial button. No other DECT phone I have ever owned has let me do this, only hardwired phones. They also have pager mode to talk between the handsets. You push the centre stick, then push the top left button and push the number of the extension. As the phones aren't numbered on screen you have to use trial and error the first time to find out which handset is where, but otherwise this works well.

To summarise I would say the phones are pretty good. They are intuitive to use, the options are easy to find (like turning off the screen on charge which is very important in the bedroom) and they work right out of the box. The sound is loud enough and easy to hear. They are not bad looking and work fine within a certain range. As my last phone is just on the cusp of the range I don't find it totally frustrating but I think I would if they had to reach further. The DECT repeater has fixed this but it would have been better if I didn't need one. These are the best handsets I have had to date and if the range was slightly better I would have given the full 5 stars.

I went for this product after reading reviews on many sites. There were very few negative comments and it soon became clear why.
Very easy to set up, i didn't even read the instructions, and very good looking. Sound is excellent, as is the range and variety of ringtones.
No complaints whatsoever, i cannot recommned this product highly enough!

If only the wife would remember to place them back in the cradle!