Great Phone Answering machine combo
Written: May 04 '00 (Updated Jun 04 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Sleek, compact all in one unit, Caller ID in handset
Cons: NiCd batteries, faint echo
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| Dullhead's Full Review: Panasonic KX TC1870 900 MHz - Cordless Phone |
If you're looking for a cordless phone to replace your old 45-something MHz analog phone, take a look at the Panasonic KXTC-1870B. It's a really sophisticated 900 MHz model that has so many features, you could replace your old cordless phone, answering machine and Caller ID display with one sleek unit. And while you sit back and admire its good looks as it sits on your desk, be assured you have a wonderful machine that works almost as good as it looks. I say "almost" because this phone does have minor shortcomings. But for what you pay, it's an excellent value.
What you get
The handset is a sleek unit operated by a rechargeable Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) battery pack. The battery probably lasts for well over a week in standby mode without recharging, but I have not had a chance to test it beyond a couple of days. The battery recharge time is a surprisingly low 4 hours. The talk time is about the same, 4-5 hours. I can usually go 3 days without recharging, and I use the phone about 2 hours a day. One good thing is that the sound quality stays good all the way till the beeping starts. With my old 45 MHz cordless, battery charge would dry up abruptly while I was on the phone, and I'd literally have to unplug the base to end the call.
You'll love the handset of this model. It's sleek and the keys are neatly arranged for easy access. The handset has a lighted keypad, which is nice. What's better is the backlit Caller ID display at the back of the earpiece. Incoming calls are displayed in a 3 line LCD. It also has call-waiting Caller ID, if you subscribe that service. Up to 50 incoming calls can be stored in the Caller ID memory. The handset also allows for storage of 10 speed dial numbers, and yet another 5 can be stored in the base.
The base houses the digital speakerphone, an additional keypad, and the all digital answering machine. The speakerphone volume can be changed from a setting of 1 to 8 and is loud enough to be heard even across a large room. The additional keypad is good if you don't want to punch in sensitive information like your credit card numbers on your handset (It is recommended that you never transmit such information using a handset, no matter how secure or advanced the technology). The answering machine, which features a tapeless digital recording mechanism with up to 15 minutes of storage time works just fine and also includes a date time stamp with each message.
Some additional features include
- Two way intercom/paging (handset locator)
- Remote message playback for retrieval of messages using the handset
- Speakerphone access from the handset (If you suddenly decide to include others in the room in the conversation, no need to get up from your chair - just turn the speakerphone on from the handset)
- Pager notification - set up your system so that you get paged with the number of your caller, if Caller ID gets the caller's number
- 20 Channel Autoscan
The Technology
Panasonic aggressively advertised their KXTG "Gigarange Extreme" line of phones claiming higher clarity and security. While the Gigarange phones transmit in a higher frequency band and use different frequencies for handset to base and base to handset transmission of data, they apparently did not feature digital encryption, and some consumers claimed it was possible to pick up partial conversations using a scanner (The handset to base part of the conversation, transmitted in the 900 MHz range). The base to handset part of the conversations apparently could not be picked up because scanners that operate in the 2.4 GHz range are not available.
Now, the KXTC-1870B is probably better because it uses Digital Spread Spectrum Technology. I'm not an electronics whiz, but I am led to believe that the word "Digital" is key here. From my understanding, voice data is converted to digital signals and then encrypted using a digital code, which only the base receiver can decode. Security is very high because of the millions of codes available for encryption at both the base and the handset. This is what ultimately led to my decision to purchase this model instead of the KXTG Gigarange Extreme model.
Improvements
Though the KXTC-1870B is a wonderful cordless phone, there are still a few areas where it could bear improvement. The phone could use a Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery packs instead of NiCads, which are known to have memory problems - meaning if you don't recharge them completely, they are bound to lose capacity. Though clarity is very good, there is always a faint echo (you get used to it eventually) - but then, there is no digital spread spectrum phone in the market that is echo free. The answering machine waits about 5 seconds after message playback and then announces the date and time stamp. This can get a bit annoying, since Caller ID will not function till the answering machine is done. So if you happen to check your messages before checking your Caller ID, be prepared to wait about 10 seconds to check your Caller ID. These minor quibbles apart, the KXTC-1870B is a great cordless phone to have. If you don't want the answering machine, the speakerphone or the additional keypad, you can go for the KXTC-1800, which is similar to the KXTC-1870 in many respects.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Dullhead
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Location: San Diego, CA
Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 1 member
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