Customer Reviews: Read 492 more reviews...
 Finally! A really good cordless phone April 14, 2007
S. Rys (Austin, TX USA)
564 out of 566 found this review helpful
I have gone through more than 15 types of cordless phones in the last several years. Some of them very good, but not perfect, others fairly awful. When I was doing my research this time for a new phone, I came across DECT 6.0 technology. It claims no interference with WiFi networks, greater range, clear transmission and extended battery life. Bottom line, it's pretty much true.
I've used this phone for a week and it is crystal clear, no interference with my WiFi network, no "hiccups" with a call, like static or audible digital artifacts. My 5.8 Ghz phone would let me talk with a range of maybe 100 feet outside of my house with the front door closed. This telephone lets me go to the end of my driveway, across the cul de sac, and into my neighbor's driveway without sound degradation. I'd guess that I'm getting about 3x the distance of my 5.8 Ghz phone in a real world situation.
The great thing about this phone is that the battery life is awesome. The phone claims up to 17 hours of talk time and several days of standby. I make a lot of conference calls from my home, and I'm on the phone about 6 hours per day. I'd have to switch cordless phones during the day with ANY 5.8Ghz phone, as they'd last anywhere from 3 to 5 hours. I've made 2 days of calls, for a total of 11 hours, and the battery indicator still shows a full charge, without being placed back into the charger. I'm going to keep it out of the charger in standby and talk until the battery runs down, to accurately gauge the battery life, but it would appear that the 17 hours of talk time is a realistic estimate. By the way, the phone uses traditional AAA rechargeable batteries (x2), for each handset. My 5.8 Ghz phone used 3, and had a max talk time of about 5 hours.
The keys on this phone are bigger than other phones, another plus in my book. I'd always misdial a number with smaller buttons. I have yet to misdial with these keys. They're the perfect size.
I don't use the answering machine, as I have telephone company voicemail. The only downside to this phone is that the message waiting indicator for telephone voicemail, doesn't work. I've set it to "on", on every phone, and my 5.8Ghz phone will flash the voicemail alert, but these handsets aren't flashing. I've had this problem with other phones, especially VTech, so I'm thinking that most phones work, there must be something about the connection into my house that doesn't get the call message alert to the phone. I have DSL and filters in the house. Maybe this is the cause?
Anyway, overall, this is a really good set of phones, they work great, have great sound, and the battery life is stellar. I'm really happy with this purchase. You should probably consider DECT 6.0 going forward. It's MUCH better than 5.8Ghz technology, in my opinion.
UPDATE:
As an update to my review, the phone is now in it's 16th hour of talk time, with 5 days of standby (no charging) and it's still working on the last bar of the battery indicator. I'd say that the 17 hours of talk time is a conservative number. As stated previously, the battery life is the best that I've ever experienced with a cordless phone. Actually, incredible by today's standards.
 Pretty good value, some good pros and some annoying cons August 29, 2007
DigitalMan
220 out of 224 found this review helpful
This is my review of the Panasonic KX-TG1033S set after owning 2 other systems, including the Uniden TRU8885-3HS 5.8Mhz. In fact, I'm comparing it to the Uniden TRU8885-3HS in parts of this review because I know some of you are probably considering that other set. For those of you that are looking at the Uniden set and this one and trying to decide, let me just say this - I kind of wish I'd stayed with the Uniden TRU8885, but it's a tough call because this has some things better implemented. Here's more details:
PROS:
Excellent battery life.
Very lightweight / comfortable handsets. Definitely lighter than my Uniden TRU8885-3HS handsets and better overall design.
Great reception distance.
Well-sized / well-placed buttons. Easy to press for those of us with big hands / fingers, unlike my Uniden TRU8885-3HS which has buttons so small and cramped that it's easy to mis-dial.
Headset jack does not create static when moving the headset cable around, unlike my Uniden TRU8885-3HS which makes a ton of crackling noise at the slightest movement when the headset is plugged in.
When you receive a long-distance call, the caller ID retains the "1" in front of their area code so that can easily call someone back by just looking at the caller ID. My Uniden TRU8885-3HS could do this, but I had to press the * key to bring up the 1. (Not a big deal, but I'm being thorough here).
CONS:
The headset feature, while having a better input jack than any other set/brand I've tried, is way too quiet. I can barely hear the person on the other end when I plug in my Panasonic KX-TCA60 headset (and also my Pantronics and Uniden headsets). Out of all 3 headsets the Panasonic KX-TCA60 worked best (both speaking and listening), but it's still too hard to hear the other person on the line. Any background noise in your room, and forget it. You'll be struggling to hear them. My Uniden TRU8885 was way better on headset volume.
The menuing system is a bit cumbersome to navigate, and although for the most part it's decent, a couple of the basics are really annoying. For example - if you like to use your handset to view the time, it's there only after you've viewed all your missed calls. If you've missed a call, the time goes away from the screen and it just says "Missed Calls" until you navigate to the Caller ID screen and scroll down 1 by 1 through all your missed calls. Only then will the clock / time display come back. Annoying to say the least. My Uniden TRU8885 was better in this way - it still showed all the other normal display stuff even with missed call / voicemail indicators showing.
There is no speakerphone on the main base (and no dialing from the base obviously). The only thing the main base is good for is checking / erasing voicemail. The Uniden TRU8885 blows this out of the water obviously, with an excellent fully functional dialing / speakerphone / control system all right in the base.
While the overall sound is good, it's definitely not quite as good as my Uniden TRU8885 was. There seems to be a bit of jitter on the line with these, even when your close to the base. Most people won't notice this, and those of us who do notice it won't care too much because it's almost negligable, but still I miss the better clarity / volume of my Uniden TRU8885 set.
So this is a tough call for anyone trying to choose between these two similar systems - there's a lot to like about this Panasonic KX-TG1033S set, but after using it for a couple weeks now I wish I'd stayed with my Uniden TRU8885-3HS set.
If you spend a lot of time on your phone each day and you depend on it for important business communications, I'd say go with the Uniden TRu8885. However, if you are a "normal use" kind of person and don't care about things like headset volume or a full-featured base, then the Panasonic KX-TG1033S is still an excellent choice. I honestly go back & forth on which I like better still, but I'd have to say the Uniden wins for my purposes.
Still, this is an excellent system overall, so 4 stars it is!
UPDATE 9/6/07 - CHANGE OF HEART:
After more extensive use I've changed my mind about these, and wish I'd kept my Uniden TRU8885's. Here's why (I'll use "Pana" and "Uni" abbreviations since we already know which two brands/sets I'm comparing):
Range - The pana's have nowhere near the range of the Uni's. I've called people from my firepit in the back yard with the Uni's and there's no signal there with the Pana's. Also, I could transfer my phonebook from my Uni handset in my basement to the Uni handset up in the 2nd floor bedroom, and the Pana's won't reach it (it'll send to the one in the 1st floor living room but not the one upstairs in the bedroom).
Volume and Clarity - The Uni's can go way louder than the Pana's at all devices - the handset, the handset speakerphone, the base speakerphone/voicemail, and the headset (most important one). I've tried 3 different headsets with the Pana's, including Panasonic's own KTX series, and they're all way too quiet. The Uni's were not only louder, but definitely clearer sounding too, even on the speakerphones.
Menuing / navigation / features - At first I thought I liked the Pana's menu/nav system better, but over the past week I've discovered that the Uni's were actually a lot easier with better features. There are too many little details to point out, and most of which you might not care about, but just for example - many times the Pana's can only handle one function at a time, like when you're on a call you can't play back a voicemail from the base. With my Uni's I could be on a call with someone and still play back messages from the base. This was helpful if I wanted to put someone on hold and verify a message that was left, and also for stupid stuff like playing back a funny voicemail for a friend to hear while we're on the line together.
Another IMPORTANT example is I could scroll through my caller ID while on a call with the Uni's, no can do with Pana's.
Base features - I didn't think I'd miss it too much, but having the full dialing system and control center as well as caller ID and speakerphone on the base was a great advantage with the Uni's. With the Uni's I could do everything from the base that I could do from the handset, plus more. The Pana's base is only good for charging and voicemail.
Dialing - this is a trivial / small issue, but the Uni's dial in "real time" (in other words, fast), while the Pana's have a delay when you punch in the numbers on the keypad. Some people won't care, others will be annoyed to madness.
Answering system - without going into details, the Uni handsets provide much better / fuller / easier control over the entire voicemail system. Also, you can record greetings from the base on the Uni as well as the handsets. The Pana's can only record greetings from the handsets, not as clear, and more difficult to work the answering system from the handset than the Uni's.
Room monitor - again, another trivial /small issue for most people, but somewhat important for me - not only did the Uni's have intercom (like the Pana's) but also the Uni's had a room-monitor feature. For example - I could set a handset next to the front door, then go down to the basement and tell it to "room monitor" the handset up by the door. This was really helpful when I was expecting a delivery because I can't hear the doorbell upstairs from the basement.
There are a few more things better about the Uni's that I've skipped over but most probably won't matter to you.
I'm returning these and going back to my Uniden TRU8885's. Wish I could change my vote to 3 stars.
DECEMBER 2007 UPDATE - I'm not going to delete any original comments, but let me just add that I have found the ULTIMATE solution - the new Uniden 9485 system The Uni 9485's have far surpassed the shortcomings of the Uni Tru 8885 and this Pana set. I switched to the Uni 9485's about 2 months ago and what a difference. The base is better. the buttons are better, the menu is better, and they finally fixed the crackling noise problem that the 8885 headset jacks had. Definitely without a doubt go for the Uniden 9485's instead of the original Pana's and Uni's I reviewed above. Major improvement in all aspects. The Uni 9485 handsets are even an improvement over the 8885's, and the base is way better as well. Sound quality cannot be beat. There's no way I'd go back to the Pana's or Uni 8885's again, these 9485's are a massive improvement over both.
Outstanding call clarity + software...but no visual display on answering machine August 8, 2007
Paul Stuart
135 out of 136 found this review helpful
For those who think all cordless phones are alike, au contraire. I've struggled with crackly 900 mhz lemons, 1.8ghz with non-existent range, 2.8ghz housed in faulty answering machine units, and 5.8ghz paperweights where every call was a lesson in hearing impaired.
The KX-TG1033S, however, is a refreshingly great wireless phone system that finally gets it right. Extremely intelligent software plays messages through every unit when call screening, likewise playback of the answering machine is available from each handset. Related, the LCD display is very sharp, ring (and tones) very customizable. (If you're so inclined, each of the 3 units can play a different tone upon ring.) Love the detailed status information when the phone is not in use.
Most importantly, call clarity is outstanding. Standard and speaker are both surprisingly strong, crystal clear over digital phone service. There is no disparity across any of the 3 units based on physical location and/or being housed in the base answering machine. (A common flaw in other expandable wireless phone systems.) I've likewise encountered no range difficulties even when fielding calls in the front/back yards. Not a hiss, signal loss, nothing. The ability to transfer calls, intercom to other units is nothing short of awesome.
A couple of minor glitches worth noting: The Panasonic Menu IS as complicated as advertised. There is a learning curve -- albeit small -- in how to navigate them before features can truly be maximized. You will be reading the instruction manual, unfortunately. Moreover, the initial charge/battery calibration takes FOREVER. ((Be prepared for a half a day (or more) without your new phones.)) Battery life, however, seems infinite following this early lesson in patience.
Second, there is no graphical display on the answering machine. Thus, number of missed calls/messages becomes unfortunate guesswork. Arguably the greatest tradeoff of a system this high in quality.
These misgivings aside, the KX-TG1033S comes very highly recommended, at a very attractive price point to boot. Sister, high quality expandable systems can cost upwards of a hundred dollars more.
FYI: You might find yourself unable to pull caller ID up on your phones if attached to a fax machine. This is easily remedied via a cheap splitter (despite contradictory info from Panasonic tech support).
Great Phone - Complicated Menu Items May 12, 2007
R. Corrado
73 out of 80 found this review helpful
One of the best cordless phones I've purchased as far as sound quality is concerned. It is stylish and loaded with features. The down side is that the features are difficult to set up and are not intuitive to use. Particularly difficult is trying to review the Caller ID information stored in the phone - this is an easy task on every other phone - but not on this one.
Buy it! May 21, 2007
Subtleldy (Springfield, IL USA)
54 out of 56 found this review helpful
I understand that getting used to the Panasonic mindset on how to use their phone products can be a challenge the first time. So, if you're new to Panasonic, take a deep breath, slow down, and read carefully. This is no GE system you're dealing with.
And, if you're thinking of upgrading from a present Panasonic system -- do it! We upgraded from a 2.? (something) system and WOW! Crystal clear, easy to use, and it even has an easy intercom.
The system came out of the box and was operational with 10 minutes. Best phone system we've ever had. Highly recommend!
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