Panasonic KXTC1881B 900MHz DSS 2-Line Cordless Phone with Caller ID & Speakerphone (Black)

This phone generally works well. The fast battery charging, caller-ID and sound quality are fine. Just one problem: there is no microphone mute! This seems to be an IMPORTANT, simple, feature lacking from most Panasonic phones. Why, I don't know. If I am in a conference call, and others are not easily heard, I have to turn the volume up to the max, and then the slightest sound (e.g. keyboard clicks) at my end engages the anti-microphony muting and I miss the next 10 second of their conversation!

Yes, the lack of mute button is annoying.

I also like to turn off my ringer at night, and instead of having a switch on the phone (like my previous Panasonic cordless) you have to wade through several menus, while the thing beeps at you loudly for each menu item/choice. When my wife is sleeping while I try to set this... well, it's sort of against the whole *point* of turning the ringer off.

The other annoying thing I find is the "Voicemail indicator" (blinking light), while a very nice feature, often won't go off after you've deleted your mailbox of voicemail (this is phone company type voicemail service - not built-in voicemail on the phone - which it doesn't have). And now, the thing is permanently on (blinking). I can't seem to get it to go away, even after unplugging the unit. Weird.

Other than that, this phone is very nice.

I really wanted to like this phone. It has wall mount, digital spread spectrum, excellent sound quality, a comfortable handset, and a good feature list. After two days, I can't stand using it anymore.
- You can't dial the phone from the base if you are using the handset - defeats the whole purpose of multiple keypads.
- The caller ID won't stop blinking without picking up the handset and going through multiple menu items.
- The phone won't let you step through the names in the stored directory any faster than one per second.
- Speed dial only works on the base, not the handset.
- Speed dial and the stored directory don't work together.
- Transferring calls between the speaker phone and the handset is a tedious, noisy operation.
- No mute button.
- Too much loud beeping that you can't turn off.
In short - if you aren't a phone power user, don't pay for the extra features on this phone. If you are a power user, find a phone designed by...Read more