Panasonic KX-TG8232B 1.9 GHz Duo Single Line Cordless Phone

This is the second Panasonic phone that I buy this week and I think that I will return it as well. The first model was a Panasonic KX-TG6022, 5.8Ghz which I kept for 3 days only, and this new model (KX-TG8232B) which will also find its way back to the store very soon.

My biggest complain for both these phones is the poor sound quality, makes the cool features not worth it. I have had plenty of other phones in the last 20 years (Sony, Uniden, GE, Panasonic) and this is by far the worst that I have ever owned as far as sound quality goes. It's almost like listening to AM radio with "treble" set to max and "bass" set to min on a sound system; there is always a sort of "shhhhhhhh" background noise in the background that gives me a headache in no time. There is no depth at all to the sound, my cell phones give me 3 times a better sound quality. I was speaking with a friend for 30 minutes tonight and had to take and Advil afterwards... no kidding !

I am somewhat of a picky consumer when it comes to electronics, I love all the new technological stuff that is around for me to buy, but I realise that a lot of this stuff is all "look" but cheap in quality. These Panasonic phones are no different. I love that they have wallpapers, colour LCD display, cute little ring tones, stylish look, but I expect more than that from a company like Panasonic, I expect sound quality to be 10/10, not 4/10 which is what I gave these phones.

What I loved about this phone (as most people will):
1- The stylish look
2- The colour LCD display
3- Icons in the menu (somewhat useless, but cute)
4- Nice ring tones including polyphonic ring tones.
5- Wall papers (although only 3 available to choose from)
6- Answering machine sound quality is very good, but I use Vonage as phone company and already have that service included, so the answering machine is not that useful for me.
7- The alarm feature on the handsets, much like an alarm clock.
8- Battery life (rechargeable AAA's) is supposed to be remarkable, but I know that I will not have the phone long enough to verify that.

What I did not like so much about this phone:
1- The glossy black finish shows off fingerprints really well and I would imagine that it would get all scratched in several months time unless you were really careful with them.
2- No blinking light indicator to warn you of a received voice message. If you do not turn on the phone to see the display, (it is normally black, not even showing the time of day) there is no way of knowing that you have a voice message waiting for you. Unless it is on the charger then the display is dimly lit and will show missed calls or voice messages received.
3- No "Hold" button, only a "mute" button badly located, right under the Off button, making easy to accidentally hang on someone.
4- To turn the ringer off, you have to go in the "Initial settings" menu, then in the "Ringer setting" menu, then "Ringer volume" and turn the volume down (using the joystick) all the way until finally reaching "OFF" ! Really bad software design.
5- No "Room monitor" feature, usefull if you have young children. Had this on my Uniden phones, not that I used it a lot but was a nice feature to have.
6- Last but most important of all: the SOUND QUALITY is very disappointing, much annoying.

So, it comes down to what you want most: cool features, or a phone that sounds great. I will miss the cool and stylish look of this phone, but it will same me money on Advils !

I upgraded from my Panasonic 5.8GHZ Expandable and what a great decision! This phone is superb! Works great, no issues with distance, clear as a bell, extra ringers make incoming calls pleasant. Color caler ID is great. Intercom rocks! Phone lasts 3-5 days without a charge. I reccomend this all the way!! Absolutely nothing bad to say! Digital is great! Definitely noticed a difference in my wireless network.

1. Does not have "hold" button or function on base unit or remotes. You cannot put a call on hold and call for someone else to pick up on another remote. Very inconvenient when you have gotten used to this function.
2. Does not have speaker built into base unit - only in the remote. A base unit speaker as on my KX-TG4000B is much clearer and louder.
3. The joystick is not the most user friendly feature.
4. I liked the base unit on my old Panasonic KX-TG4000B much better.
5. Reception is clear and distance from base unit not a problem - just like with my 2.4 Ghz KX-TG4000B.
5. Would I buy anoteht one? - Yes, but I personally would hold off purchase of a 1.9 ghz phone until the multiple line phones come out. That way you would have the hold button that I really liked on my KX-TG4000B.

Ok. If you have the money, this is the cordless phone to get. It won't interfere with your router, your wireless mouse, and other electronic devices that usually run on 2.4Ghz as this phone runs on 1.9Ghz. Sound quality is superb, and the design of the phone is outstanding. Very easy to use and even fun to use.
The only drawback to this phone is the range. My house is quite long, and the other end of my house won't be able to pick up the signal. Even if it does, the sound quality would be very poor with much static. But this shouldn't be a problem to those who place their base stations in the living room (center of the house). This problem occurred to me because I placed the base station in my room (far end of the house) and I tried going in to the master bedroom (opposite far end of the house). So for those who have a squarish house and plan on using this phone around the living room area, I'm sure your future review for this phone would be 5/5.

The Good Part: The best wireless phone! No interference with other wireless products, a beautiful phone!

The Bad part: Menu only in english and spanish, only three wallpapers.

Resuming: You can buy it without fear!