Panasonic DECT 6.0 3-Handset Expandable Digital Cordless Phone with Answering System and ChoiceMail (KX-TG7433B) (Black)

After my last Panasonic DECT 6.0 3-phone system inexplicably stopped working, I sought a similar replacement set. I've generally found Panasonic phones to be very reliable and figured my last purchase was simply a lemon (occasionally happens to the best). I ended up purchasing the KX-TG7433. The first thing I have to say is that the phone is gorgeous. The black shiny finish is much more sleek and attractive than the previous bland beige Panasonic I owned. The display is also much larger and vivid with a high-contrast black on gray LCD with large easily readable characters. The LCD and keypad are both well illuminated when any button is pushed. The time and date are prominently displayed on the LCD in standby mode. When you have a missed call or message waiting, it is also clearly displayed on the handset LCD, as well as a flashing amber LED on top of the handset. The set comes with three handsets, a base with built-in digital answering machine, and two charging bases for the...Read more

One of the best features of these handsets is the extremely large LCD display that is backlit in a bright white with LARGE black dot matrix lettering (great for my mom who has poor vision without her glasses).... this LCD is simply heaven! However, because the LCD is so large, the ear piece is just a single tiny hole at the very top of the phone instead of a large speaker with multiple holes, as is found on most traditional handsets. This forces you to position the phone against the ear in an awkward position, with the very top edge of the phone crossing the center of your ear. Otherwise, if you hold it comfortably on your ear as you would any other phone, the volume is lower because the single hole for the speaker would then be near the back/top of the ear. It takes about a week to adjust to this minor design inconvenience. That being said, the adjustable volume does need to be louder, and if it were louder you could probably position the phone normally at the top or back eadge of...Read more

While I only gave this product three stars, that doesn't mean that it's not good enough for the majority of people looking for an expandable cordless phone system. The phones work and look great. The main base is small enough that it doesn't take up too much space on a table. The call quality is great and will definitely work well through extended distances. One feature that I really like is the ability to listen to the answering machine through the individual handsets. This is nice if you're not close to the base and you just want to listen to messages. It also means that the base can pretty much go anywhere, since it's not necessary to access it, unless you want to turn off the answering machine.

Now, for the reasons that I gave it only three stars. First of all, the base is nearly useless. Yes, it holds the answering machine, but all that's on the base are a few buttons and some LED's. There's no message counter, or anything that many other expandable phone...Read more