Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic KX-TG5240M GigaRange Supreme 5.8 GHz DSS Expandable Cordless Phone with Answering System

Before I start my review, let me point out that I've been using Panasonic phones for years, and I'm quite familiar with their phones. And every time buying a new phone, another feature is missing. So to date, I have so many features missing, I wish I could get back to my old phone from 8 years ago. And let me explain.

The TG-5240 Is replacing my TG-2257. I'm not crazy about the new hot orange color on the handsets LCD and keys. I would like blue better. Voice quality is clear and good. No problems so far. But the new missing feature is: on all my phones until now, whenever I playback a message and the handset is on the base, the caller ID shows while the message is playing. NO MORE! The handset just doesn't care I'm listening to my messages, it just shows me a freaking 'CHARGING...' message. So I have to figure out who is the voice talking on the message. I really miss that feature. (actually, according to the user manual, it supposed to work with the caller ID showing, but for some reason it's not working on my phone. I will contact Panasonic for that).

The talking caller ID is really weird. It reads the names very funny, and "out of the area" calls it always saying 'unavailable' and bla bla bla... I just hate it. Fortunately, you can turn it OFF (as I did). You can have this feature on or off independent on the base or the handset.

The recording in the answering machine has 2 modes. Standard, and Enhanced recording (for better sound quality), which reduces recording time in half (from 16 minutes to 8 minutes).

Another good feature (copied from cell phones) that if somebody is calling you and you don't want to pickup the phone, and you want to turn off the ringer now (for this call only), you could press the 'Off' button (which is as the 'end' key in a cell phone), and the ringer will turn off. The call will be transferred to the answering machine, of course.

There are many things more similar to cell phones in this phones. A few examples: A selection of many ringer tones with some musical ringers; When you come home you don't see any more on the handset LCD '5 new calls' or (like my previous TG-2257) 'new calls received', but you see '5 missed calls'.

A new feature on this phone, that on the top of the antenna of the handset there is an indicator lamp (which is flashing while the phone is ringing), and you have an option to set that if you have a new message, the lamp will flash, even the handset is off the base. So you don't have to go to your base to check for new messages. You just see the indicator lamp flashing slowly on the handset, and you press the soft button 'play', and you hear the messages on the handset speaker. Smart!

I also like that lately in Panasonic phones you have a redial list of the last 5 outgoing calls (Although some others have a list of the last 10 calls).

Let's go over some things Panasonic used to offer on their previous phones and now you can't get it any more, and I really missed them all.

1) LCD on the base to show Caller ID and other info. (even on the older models that do have it, it was never backlit).

2) In the good old days, the answering system had a 'fast talk' feature on message playback, so if somebody is talking too slowly, you can make it play faster by about 30%. And you was also able to rewind it fast (also about 30% faster than 1X the speed). (much like your CD players rewind and fast forward functions, when you press the forward button and hold it, it plays faster and while pressing and holding the rewind button it's rewinding but you can hear it. This was very useful for me in many situations, for example: you have a long message from your friend, with a return phone number at the end of the message, and I just wanted to re-listen to the phone number, I was able to rewind as many times as I wanted to listen to that phone number. Or restart the message from the beginning and fast forward it to the point you want to listen (you know, we're always in a hurry...)

In the newer Panasonic phones (last 4-5 years or so), if you press rewind - even if you keep holding it, it will return to the beginning of the message or to the previous message, same as forward will move it to the next message. Also, the last few years they have a new useless feature called 'Slow talk', so you can play the message about 30% slower than usual! I never used that feature. But for you people who did used it, be advised that this feature has been eliminated from this phone. No more slow or fast talk - just regular speed.

Now, let me describe some features Panasonic never had, but other competitors do have them, and would be nice to see them in upcoming Panasonic telephones (I hope Panasonic is reading the reviews).

1) Show the time (and date) on the handset when not in use.

2) Automatically adjust time when a caller calls in (with caller ID). In Panasonic phones you have to set it first manually, and caller ID will adjust the time if the time is incorrect. But if the date & time have not been previously set, caller ID information will not adjust the date & time.

Sorry for my long review. I hope you'll find some useful information.

I finally found a cordless phone that I am content with. Having had the Siemens multi-handset option, as well as the ATT 5.8 GHz set which I returned for this Panasonic, I can finally rest easy. It's worth mentioning that the phone isn't perfect (I'll address my wish list of upgrades in a bit), but it confidently handles most of my basis needs including: good reception, good answering machine, good form factor.

The reception, contrary to what others in this forum have written, is superb. It is better than all of the cordless phones I have used in the past, including other Panasonics.

The answering machine is good. While I will admit that the outgoing message quality could be improved a bit (I refuse to use the enhanced voice clarity and be stuck with 8 minutes of messages), it is functional and the message replay system works as it should....in straightforward fashion.

The form factor is great. The base station is small and inconspicuous. While some users would prefer an LCD screen, I argue that the handsets function perfectly in that regard, even going so far as to be able to program the base station itself. Moreover, they are small. Although I worried that the orange light would not be as pleasing as the blue light on some other models, I am pleased to admit that the orange light is actually preferable in a darker environment in that it is easier on the eyes. However, it is still very legible in the daytime.

Basically, the system is essentially what I wanted. Okay, as I mentioned, it would be nice if it had the following upgrades: longer recording time for the answering machine and better sound quality for the outgoing message. But, these are pretty minor. I am just content that my system with 2 handsets works as advertised.

This is my third 5.8Ghz phone in 3 months. I tried the VTech, Uniden and now Panasonic, and this one I will keep. I needed a speakerphone, answering machine and multi-handset unit, so my choices in the 5.8Ghz range were limited. Of the three I tried, the Panasonic KX-TG5240M was the only one that worked well and had the above key features.

Outside of the features, things that are good on this phone -

1: Clear, static-free conversation

2: Button placement and design (on the Uniden and VTech phones, every time I put the phone in my pocket, the "TALK" button would become depressed, thus opening the line. Not a good thing on the other phones. Panasonic is the only phone that has well designed and slightly recessed "TALK" and "OFF" buttons.

3: Easy to use screen prompts, reducing need to memorize functions.


That said, Panasonic could have so easily made this phone great by addressing the following short-comings:

1: Handset speakerphone volume is not quite high enough. I can't place the phone on a table in the room and walk around having a conversation b/c the speaker is simply too quiet. Even on its highest volume, one can describe the handset speakerphone as good enough to put on the desk in front of you while seated there, not anything more.

2: Answering machine has 16 minutes of recording time on the lower quality (half that in higher quality mode). While lower quality is okay - somewhat difficult to understand but acceptable - the higher quality mode would be far better to use, but 8 minutes of recording time doesn't cut it for anyone who travels and expects to want to save messages. Memory is so cheap. Panasonic could have tripled that number without an appreciable increase in cost. NOTE: The Uniden TRU-8885 has an excellent quality digital answering machine (as good as any tape-type analog) and plenty of recording time.

3: Handset phone book does not allow for numerically-assigned speed-dials. You can easily search by name in the phone book, but if you call your office voice mail three times a day, it would have been really nice to be able to assign that phone book entry to, say, speed dial #1, thus avoiding the need to always search. Not a huge deal, but note that Panasonic uses this technique on the base (since there is no base-station alpha-display). Why couldn't they have just added this same feature to the handsets?

---

My overall take is that this is the best of the three phones I tried. The most compelling two reasons I moved from the other phones to this phone were (1) the "TALK" button problem, which is a big deal since I like to keep the phone in my pocket while walking around the house and (2) range in my 1934 plaster-wall house. I didn't bring this point up above, but neither VTech nor Uniden had any range inside or around my house or surrounding 1/3-acre property. Something was clearly interfering with the signal. With respect to range, the Panasonic is better (not great - I can't walk more than 200 or so feet from the base, whether inside or outside), but at least I can get signal in all rooms of my house. I figure there must be something in my walls that is retarding the signal.

If you're willing to spend the money, this is a good phone. I wish my old Panasonic 900 Mhz was still working. That was better than all of the above in every respect!

I purchased the immediate predecessor to this phone in December 2003. While the reception was outstanding -- that had been an issue with my previous telephone -- the handset stopped working after 9 months and the resulting customer service has been nightmarish. Here are the specifics:

In August, the microphone on my handset stopped working. I'd pick up the phone, say hello, and get nothing but dead air. I'd call the person back (using the magic of caller ID) and they'd tell me that the phone picked up but they couldn't hear anything. So I called my cell and had one of those ridiculous conversations with myself, one phone to each ear. Sure enough, the microphone wasn't working.

I then called customer service (on my cell, of course, since the handset wasn't working). This resulted in what I now look back on as some fairly rote fix attempts. First, they told me to go out and buy a new battery. This didn't work (the old battery seemed fine, although I found it interesting that they said the batteries have only a 1 year life span). Then, they had me use a certain key combination to reset the phone, then wait 12 hours before trying it. I did this, but the phone still didn't work.

On my third call to customer service, they agreed that it sounded like the phone needed repair, and said I could send the handset into a place in Texas for a refurbished replacement. The problem is that they insisted I send THE ENTIRE PHONE IN, base unit included. I explained that the base unit was working fine, and that I could use the speakerphone in the interim. They said no, that was the policy. I then asked to speak to a supervisor.

The supervisor was very nice, but said that that was simply their policy -- to send the entire phone in. I explained that that would mean I'd be without my home phone for what sounds like two weeks, unless I went out and bought another one. She said, "I'm sorry if that causes you any inconvenience." Any inconvenience? To be without a phone for two weeks? Having to use a speakerphone for two weeks is an inconvenience; being without a phone entirely is nutty. It's as if the water department said, "I'm sorry, you won't be able to flush the toilet for take a shower for two weeks... hope that doesn't bother you any."

I very calmly asked to escalate this, but she said she was the highest escalation point. After I expressed some surprise that the CEO of Panasonic would be taking calls like this, she gave me a number in New Jersey. It turns out the call center, by the way, was in the Philippines. That explained why she was so nice, and made me feel a little guilty about my sarcastic you-must-be-the-CEO crack. [But it also illustrated one of the downsides of outsourcing, and it struck me as curious that they don't offer 24 hour support, since that is supposedly one of the advantages of farming out these things to a place that's 15 hours ahead of you.]

The first time I called the New Jersey number, they forwarded me back to the Phillipines. The second time I called, they gave me a different number, which turned out to be a slightly different phone tree (giving me hope), but sending me back to the Philippines nonetheless. The third time I called, they put me on hold. After five minutes of hold (all these calls are off my cell), I started writing this review. It's now 26 minutes into my hold. I'll give them another five minutes before giving up. In the meantime, I thought you should know the kinds of hoops Panasonic makes you jump through to resolve a product defect of their own making.

I guess I got a good one too because I have had nothing but great sound clarity from this phone. I bought an additional handset for my basement family room since I did't have a phone jack in it and it has been flawless. This phone has every feature I could ask for including the ability to use both handsets at the same time (unlike a lot of other phones such as Uniden). The one feature I though would be useless but ended up being my favorite is the talking caller ID. Now I don't even have to run to the phone to see who is calling! Talk about adding to my laziness!! Whenever I hear "Unknown Caller", I know I don't have to waste any energy getting up to grab the phone! Great feature!

I have always loved Panasonic phones but the last one I owned became a nightmare due to its using NICD batteries. I swear, those things would last about 3 months before they would start losing charge after 20 minutes of usage.

I was going to try another brand since the older model phone that uses the NICD batteries is what seems to be pushed by Amazon but after a quick visit to Panasonic's site, I learned about this newer model that finally uses NIMH batteries. I had to do a search for it by model number on Amazon (don't know why it wouldn't just show up under 5.8gh phones) and decided to buy it.

So far the battery life has been improved considerably and I don't have to wait until it drains down completely before I recharge it.

The price is somewhat steep for a cordless phone but so far it has been worth it. If it is within your budget, I highly recommend trying this phone.