Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic KX-TG2258S 2.4 GHz Digital Cordless Phone with Talking Caller ID and Answering System

Since I have only purchased Panasonic brand cordless phones for over 10 years, my review is really based on my expereinces with older Panasonic models rather than competitors of Panasonic.

I purchased an earlier Panasonic model (KXTG-2680N) of this phone two years ago, and for the most part I really liked is clarity and multitde of features (it was at the time one of the top line phones). However, like other Panasonic cordless phones I've had in the past, the number buttons on the handset started to stick and then stopped working at all.

I bought this particular model as a replacement for the older KX-TG2680N because I'd become a fan of the talking caller ID function. While I initally thought it was a silly function, I later found it very helpful. If I couldn't find the handset quickly enough to read the caller ID, it was nice to have a voice that told me who was calling. The KX-TG2680N talking caller ID was unintentionally funny; its pronunciation and accenting of names was often terrible, and it took time a couple of moments to figure out what it was saying. The newer KXTG-2258, however, has improved the pronunciation of names and there are far fewer times when I have to pause to think about what it is saying.

One downside of the KXTG-2680N was that the phone's battery life was short; I never bought a replacement battery, so my conversations had to be 45 minutes at the longest. So far the KXTG-2258 appears to have a longer battery life (but it has only been three weeks).

Other improvements of the KX-TG 2258 are that the buttons on the handset and speaker are bigger, and their placement is more intuative and therefore less confusing. The handset is much bigger and more comfortable to use (the older model tried to copy a cell phone) . There is also the slow talk option on the answering machine (which I don't use much) that helps when you're trying to take down a number or directions. I loved the handset speakerphone, and it is still featured on this phone. The clarity of the phone is excellent, so the voice enhancer is really not important to me.

The KXTG-2680N was full of features, but it was not an easy phone to navigate; I read the maual throughly and refered to it often. You still should on this phone, and while it still isn't the most user-friendly phone, much is less confusing than its predecessor.

However, there are things that could be improved upon and helpful features that Panasonic dropped on this lower-end model of the phone:

--The KX-TG 2258 still does not have a one-touch programmable speed dial; phone numbers are entered in the handset's phone book. Annoyingly, the phonebook can only be accessed through the handset, rather than the speakerphone and handset.

--If you are listening to the answering machine, you can't dial the handset. The machine stops playing when you press the talk button.

--When dialing from the phonebook, you cannot switch to the handset speakerphone until the number is complely dialed. Also, you can't acess the phonebook if the handset speakerphone is on.

--The answering machine may allow you to slow down a message, but it does not allow you to speed through one. You have to listen to the message from the beginning rather than forwarding to the important part of the message.

--The phone comes with several different rings tones for incoming cals. However, it would have been more useful if you could assign a group of incoming numbers a certain ring tone so you could tell who is calling. In other words, to program a caller group. The older model had this feature, and additionally the handset screen lit up a different color so that you could hear and see that it was someone from a particular group that was calling. I always thought it was overkill along with the talking ID, but I find myself missing that feature the most. When the TV is on or I cannot hear the talking ID, I could simply look at the handset from a distance and know if close family and friends were calling. I can't do that anymore with this phone.

Other than these things, the phone--so far--is good and the answering machine is okay. I just hope that the number keys on the handset don't begin to stick again!

I had some worn out V-tech 900mhz phones, and decided it was time for an upgrade. I looked at all the 2.4 ghz phones. 5.8 ghz is priced too high right now. By far the best line of cordless Phones out there is this new line of 2.4 ghz Panasonic. I also purchased the KX-TG2216FV, it uses the same Ni-mh Battery. I have had them both for about 3 weeks, they work great. Very clear sound and great battery life without battery memory.

I bought my phone about 2 weeks ago and so far I love it.It has all the features you could ask for.There's 2 speakerphones,answering machine,dual keypads,storage of 50 phone numbers,etc.I like the battery much better than the older nicad.I would recommend this phone to anyone.It comes in silver and pearl white.

Thank you very much for your reviews
I have now fixed that E3 problem, do to reading all the reviews.

This is the 3rd Panasonic phone we've purchased, and so far we're satisfied. My only complaint would be that sometimes we can hear an echo, but otherwise the phone meets our expectations. We weren't sure if we would like the Talking Caller ID, but we do like it. It's really helpful when the handset isn't in your hand, and you can't see the Caller ID. You can still know or at least have some idea of who's calling. We had first bought the GE phone that was rated #1 by Consumer Reports, and we were very disappointed. We returned it and got this phone, which is much better.