Panasonic KXTG1032S - Expected More

by Jim
(Tucson, AZ)

We got this phone about a month ago to replace an old 2.4GHz Uniden that finally gave up. The buttons were sticking and finally the batteries needed replacing. Overall we like the phone but it has some things I don't like.

Pros:

1. Easy to setup - plug it in and go.
2. You get 2 phones off one jack - no wiring.
3. Love the handset speaker speakers - no echoes or complaints.
4. Cordless answering machine is great - you can hear messages from either remotes or base.
5. Shared phonebook - big advance on the old phone.
6. You can conference between phones and call each other (my wife loves it, she no longer has to yell from downstairs to get my attention).

Cons:

1. There is something wrong with the volume. It goes up and down by itself from call to call. One phone call is fine and next is low. You need to adjust volume with every call. Sometimes it even varies during a call. We can live with it, but rather not have to play with the volume control all the time.
2. There is no display on the base to tell you the number of messages. No talking ID or other fancy stuff either.
3. You can play messages on the base, but they sound like a robot speaking and aren't clear. The answer is to only listen to them on the handsets - they are crystal clear.

In summary it's a keeper but we expected better. We should probably have bought the next model up and got more features.