Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This phone solves the problem of not being able to find wireless handsets by having a corded handset/answering machine as a base plus wireless handsets. We have tried the all-wireless phones approach, and we always ended up with all of the phones on the wrong floor. This never happens with a corded base/answering machine on the kitchen wall. We keep a wireless handset charger within reach of the wall phone, so we can easily pick up the phone and on wall and switch to a wireless handset if we want to (assuming the wireless phone hasn't walked off). Our previous three phones also had a corded base/answering machine + wireless handset(s). The most recent one was branded AT&T model E5828B, made (in China) by Advanced American Telephones, which forms my basis for comparison. The E5828B came out about 2008. Both our handsets needed new batteries (again), and rather than spending $15 on a pair of new old-fashioned batteries, I've been keeping my eyes open for a replacement phone. This Panasonic is a big upgrade. First off, I think it's helpful to clarify similar models. The KX-TG4772B appears to be identical to the KX-TG242SK, which is the version sold at Costco. They share the same Panasonic manual, which lists TG4771, TG4772, TG4773, TG242SK, and TG243SK all on its cover. There is a table in the manual that lists the parts that are included in each of the above model numbers. Every one of them is a combination of KX-TG4771 as the base with various numbers of KX-TGA470 handsets. According to the info in the manual, the KX-TG4772 and KG-TG242SK are identical. The TG4773 and TG243SK are similarly identical. If I can figure out how to upload pictures, I'll put some pictures of the table and/or the actual part numbers. I also purchased an extra handset (Panasonic KX-TGA470B Extra Handset for 47XX-series Cordless Phones) from Amazon, which was extremely easy to connect to the base. The phones tell you on their display what to do when you plug them in. I took my extra handset out of the box and accidentally put it in the charger w/o installing the batteries first, and it flashed a message to me to put the batteries in! After that, it told me what to do to register the new handset with the base. Very easy to add extra handsets. Here are some notes on various aspects of the KX-TG4772B/KX-TG242SK: AAA NiMH batteries: Needing to replace batteries on our old phone was the motivation for purchasing this Panasonic in the first place. For telephones, NiMH is a better type of battery than NiCad, since it has a larger capacity, no memory effect, and is less hazardous to the environment. Using the standard AAA size is very nice for when you need to replace the batteries. The batteries on several of my old phones were connected with wires and a plastic connector, and getting the right replacement was either expensive, difficult, or both. AAA prices are good because they're made in much larger quantities than the old phone batteries were. And I don't have to look up the phone model and Google it, then try to guess which Chinese battery is most likely to be the right one. I saw something like 10 different replacement phone batteries at Circuit City, and it's tough to get the right one unless you bring the old battery with you. Auto Call-back: While you're listening to a message on the answering machine, if you pick up the phone, it will automatically dial the caller (assuming your phone service includes Caller ID). This is such a great feature, I don't know why everyone doesn't do this. Auto-talk: You can turn on "auto-talk" to make it so that you can answer the phone by simply lifting a handset off the charger without pushing the "Talk" button. This is great, but for some odd reason, the manual says that turning on auto-talk will make it so that the caller's information will disappear from the screen when you lift the handset (if you have Caller ID). Having the phone number and caller name disappear is annoying, but it's worth it. Range: Oh, the range! Our old phone could sort of make it out to the mailbox (200 feet) with some static, and I was hoping this phone would be able to go that far. It went to the mailbox without even breaking a sweat. Its effective range was closer to 400 feet, even with some houses in the way. I was actually able to maintain a link out to 550 feet, but there were too many dropouts to really use it that far away. Variable radio power: This phone has 3 different transmit powers: Normal, ECO, and BOOST. This allows it to balance battery usage with range. When the handset is close to the base station, it doesn't need to use as much power to transmit, so it dials back the power to save the battery (ECO mode). When you go far from the base, it switches into BOOST mode to get extra range. In-between it's in Normal mode. Phonebook: The base and handsets share a single phonebook. This is a nice change from my last phone, although Panasonic has been doing this for a while. Strangely enough, the handsets in some ways are more capable than the base. It is easier to get into the voicemail from the wireless handsets than from the base. It's just one button on the handsets, but on the base, you have to go through a menu system. You can also change the ringtones on the handsets, but you can't on the base. You can give the handsets a name to distinguish between them, but you can't change the name of the base. The handsets and the base also differ in how they Page other units (see below). Voicemail service integration (I'm talking about the voicemail that the telephone company provides where they store the messages on their system rather than on the answering machine): We have Verizon FiOS, which provides voicemail, as do many other carriers. This phone detects a signal from Verizon when there is new voicemail, and displays a message on the phone. You can do a one-time set up to store the voicemail password in the phone so that when you have voicemail, you just push one button on a wireless handset (not available on the base), and it will dial into the voicemail service and enter the password for you. It makes voicemail almost as convenient as the answering machine. Even though we have the voicemail set up, we use the answering machine most of the time as it is still faster, more convenient, and sounds a bit better. We set up voicemail so that if someone tries to call while we're on the phone, it will go to the voicemail, and they can leave a message there. Intercom/Paging: You can use any of the handsets or the base to call any other handset or the base. The base and the handsets do this slightly differently. The handsets can either page another handset by name or page the base. The handsets can only page one unit at a time. The base on the other hand can page all handsets simultaneously. It can also choose a specific handset to page, but it is done by number rather than by name. The display on the base doesn't shows you the name of the handset it is paging until after it starts ringing, so unless you remember the numbers, you might choose the wrong one. The phones are a good size, neither too big nor too small. They have some texturing on the back to make them less slippery, but it's not enough to securely hold the phone between shoulder and neck w/o hands. I ended up putting the belt clips on the handsets, and now I can hold the phone between neck and shoulder w/o slipping. I am very glad I switched to Panasonic for this corded base/cordless phone combo. I doubt I will ever go back to the other brands again after this.