We're in the same boat. A land line is a must for me, living in the foothills, cells aren't so great. I need two phones because my house is too big for one. Really three would be better because I don't have a phone anywhere upstairs and I can't even hear the phone when I'm up there. Last week one of my two phones shorted out so I'm in the market for a new phone system as well. My needs are different because I have a phone in message service and don't need an answering machine.

Can't wait to hear people's opinions. They all seem so cheaply made.

I am very happy with the Panasonic KX-TGA740 mainly because it has a speaker built into each receiver so I don't have to hold the phone up to my ear to talk. Very handy when you want to set it down on a table and continue talking without having to hold it. Also good when you're put on hold for a long time. I always use the speaker now. My old phone only had the speaker on the home base where the answering machine was, if I wanted to put someone on speaker I had to walk over to the device and lean down low enough for them to hear me...totally impractical. I am surprised how few phones have this speaker capability on the handsets themselves because it's so useful. That's the feature I will look for in every phone I buy in the future.

Uniden sells something similar but their speaker never worked properly, horrible phone. I don't know what happened to Uniden the last few years, they used to be my phone of choice and Panasonic was the krappy brand. Now it's the reverse. I steered clear of AT&T and other phones based on reviews so I don't know how well they work.

Funny you should ask...We bought the Panasonic KX-TG6545 a couple of weeks ago. We're thrilled and it's surpassed our expectations.

It came with a home answering base, but each of the other phones has the ability/or not to hear a message being left. The reception is clear for a long distance way out in our yard.

The extra phones come with small charging stations so they take up little surface space and the main station can be wall mounted if you choose.

We also bought Panasonic last year and are very happy with them. Our model - KX-TG9391 is for two lines and was one of the top rated ones in C.R. We have 1 phone number for the house and a second line for DH's work. One of the best features is that it's so readily expandable. We have 1 base model at my desk and 5 cordless stations spread out through the house. That way there's always a phone nearby without having to carry one of the handsets - or wonder where you've left it. Only the base station needs to be connected to a phone outlet. The extensions just plug into any wall outlet so we can move them around as need be.

This is such perfect timing for me--I desperately need a new phone and the Panasonic sounds perfect. I like the expandable/multi set feature very much. With this I can easily put a phone in each bedroom, one in the kitchen and even one in my husband's garage/playroom.

And...to tie into another topic I just did a quick online search and discovered that Amazon sells it. $15 cheaper than Best Buy and free shipping with Amazon Prime :). I'm ordering it today!

Ann

Great question. We hate our phones. I added a panasonic to our wish list. Now if I could just solve my camera problem. My camera died, and I did some research and based on reviews decided I wanted the casio exH15. Of course I can not find it for sale anywhere now. I don't get it.

Like the others above, we have the Panasonic KX-TG5777 phone set and have never had any problems. My set is about three years old and is still going strong. I like the fact that I can use the speaker function on all of the phones, not just the base.

Having said this, I've been seriously considering getting rid of our landline and moving to Skype. We hardly ever use the landline, but I want to retain one universal telephone number for the family.

I just ordered the Vtech LS6225-3 from Amazon link

We own one of these; bought it at Radio Shack a few weeks ago. It's a great phone; my hub's gram can actually hear me on it. I also got 2 more handsets.

I was looking at This one but don't want to spend $200 when I haven't tried it yet.

We've had the Panasonic KX-TG1033S for 3 years. Same as above ... speakers on all phones, great range, can listen to answering machine from any extension, intercom function, etc. We keep one of the phones in the garden shed/workshop.

What's the battery life like on the Panasonics? I had a negative experience with the battery life on the KX-TG2770-- at first it seemed fine, but it rapidly lost its ability to hold a charge. The same thing happened with a replacement battery. (And the second time around, I was very careful to follow all of the directions about not leaving it on the charger and letting it run all the way down before charging it up again.)

I would love to have a cordless phone again, ideally with multiple handsets, but have been a little wary about just picking anything.

I have the Panasonic KX-TGA541 set up. I have no complaints with the battery life and while one shorted out, my phones are pretty old. Looks like I'll be sticking with the same brand next time.

Oh, whew! I was afraid I'd get bashed for such a boring post....glad others are interested.
MONA! Our one week old phone is same as yours" Panasonic KXTG6545. Purchased at Costco for $114. All is fine with it except for the irritating delay when answering. We need to say "hello" twice because it doesn't kick in immediately upon pickup. I read reviewers on Amazon with the same trouble. I also am not pleased with the numerous times/buttons to push to delete a call...3, I think. Not a deal killer, though. Guess I will return it ( the main reason for Costco shopping is the ease of returning) and try another panasonic....but a pain having to do another set up :>/

leahcate, our other phone deleted calls so easily (often by mistake) that having 3 buttons to push is a plus to us. And we've just learned to wait a second before saying. "Hello", so those aren't problems for us. The clarity and range of voice reception outweighs those two features.

Do other Panasonic phones have different delete methods/buttons?

Any Panasonic owners out there that can answer this?

I have three panasonic phones, one base with answering machine. I have never been unhappy and they three-four yrs. old I would think. It seems the opinion here is panasonic it best. I've never been sorry with their products like the TV either.

I have three panasonic phones, one base with answering machine. I have never been unhappy and they three-four yrs. old I would think. It seems the opinion here is panasonic it best. I've never been sorry with their products like the TV either.

Panasonic here ... 3 buttons to delete a single Caller ID ... one button to delete all messages. I just checked the manual and there's supposed to be an option to erase all Caller ID numbers at once, but I can't make it work.

Mona, everyone is different, for sure. DH and I both have a very low tolerance for the pick up and wait before we can say hello....it's making me take the thing back, actually. Does anyone else have that on their Panasonic? Our last one did not have this problem, so I'd hoped it was a peculiar malfunction with (certain lots maybe) this model.

We have the same one that maire cate mentioned the "Panasonic KX-TG9391. It is a 2 line phone where the base phone is corded, and the additional phones are cordless. I like have the cordless base at my kitchen desk, so I'm not running around trying to find the cordless. Line 1 is the home number and we use the answerer. Line 2 DH work/fax so we keep that answerer off. Very happy with it, long coverage area.

leahcate, I just realized the answering delay isn't happening anymore. I don't know when it went away and there's nothing we did to the system.

I just answered a call without waiting before I said "Hello" and the person heard me right away. I'll know more about this being a permanent fix as the day goes on and I get more calls.

Hmm, maybe I'll wait a bit to return and see if it goes away. You and I purchased the same phone at very close to the same time, so I have hope! Can wait a looong time with Costco, thank goodness. Thanks, so much for update. We shall see!

We also have a Panasonic system - not sure which model. Main handset with digital recorder and additional handsets. We actually only use one additional handset - in our bedroom. We kept a regular wall phone in the garage - good if the power goes out.

We've had the panasonic for 2 or 3 years - works great, no problems, battery is not a problem, etc. We, however do not use the speaker phone feature - I hate how it sounds, LOL.

tina

Note that "AT&T" landline phones are rebranded VTech phones and have nothing to do with either the current AT&T company or the old, indistructable Western Electric phones that the AT&T phone company used to rent out. If you compare VTech and AT&T phones with a similar feature set, you'll find they're nearly identical, but they tend to charge more for the AT&T-branded versions. Likewise, General Electric doesn't make GE phones; they're made by French consumer-electronics firm Thomson, which also makes phones under the RCA brand.

I ditched the landline about 7 years ago, but when I had one I bought a used Polycom SoundStation Premier speakerphone, one of those triangular phones you see in office boardrooms. It has wired and/or wireless remote microphones and speakers, as well as three mics built into the main unit. They allow you to talk on the speakerphone with outgoing sound quality almost indistinguishable from a regular handset, and the remote mics let you walk around the room whilst talking. Callers never guessed I was talking on a speakerphone. My system would have cost upwards of $2000 new (intended for businesses), but I got mine used on eBay for a few hundred. They would be even cheaper now since offices have largely switched over to VoIP phones and are selling off their old phones that connect to traditional phone lines. The only downside was that they never made a cordless handset. But if you want a great speakerphone, check them out or their related SoundPoint series, especially the newer ones.

For cordless phones, I've had pretty good luck with higher-end Panasonics, but I haven't really paid much attention to landline phones recently enough to make any recommendations. They are amongst the most frustrating items to buy, because you have no way to know how they sound until after you buy them, rip open the packaging, and try them in your home. At least with mobile phones, the major carriers have stores that let you make test calls on their phones before you buy.