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Flashlight Enthusiast
Many years ago--over a decade ago in fact--I purchased a Sony SPP-AQ25 cordless phone & answering system. This was before the 900 MHz phones, and it has a big long antenna sticking out the top of it. It broadcasts and receives at 44 / 48 MHz and the sound quality is virtually indistinguishable from a corded phone. I'm not exaggerating. And the range is incredible. 100 feet or more, although out that far the sound quality deteriorates. The answer system uses a tape for recording messages but has a digitally recorded greeting. I paid $120 for it back then in 1998 or so. The handset is large and easy to hold, but light, and the buttons are very large and easy to activate. I love it. But the thing is old, and has "been through the wars" as they say. The antenna is held together with kapton tape and electrical shrink wrap tubbing, and the battery cover is, of course, broken, and is also held on by tape. The plastic is yellowing, and for months the tape recorder would keep threatening to quit.
So, for a long time now I have been worrying: what will I do when my Sony SPP-AQ25 dies? What could possibly replace it? I've purchased two or three cordless phones for my parents and in-laws over the last five or so years, and have used various peoples cordless phones at different times, and have never been happy with the phones. They all fell far, far short of my own. They had poor sound quality, poor range, were small and difficult to use, and were just plain cheap. And many of them had awful talk times due to dead or dying battery packs.
Well, a year or so ago, I looked into the issue more thoroughly, hoping to find a replacement before it was needed, and to my relief I discovered the Panasonic DECT 6.0 phones. DECT stands for digital enhanced cordless telecommunications, and works in a frequency range that will not interfere with your wireless router or other wireless devices likely to be found in a home. Like a cell phone, it's a digital spread spectrum setup, as opposed to discrete channels, and thus is a lot more secure than the older cordless phones.
Anyway, at the time I first researched things, I liked the KX-TG8232 best of the Panasonic line, but when I tried out the handsets in person at Target, I wasn't entirely pleased with how they felt, with their ergonomics. I also thought the color LCD of the 8232 was maybe unnecessary. So, I kept on using my decade old Sony, although I kept the 8232 in mind.
Then, a month or so ago the answering machine part of my Sony phone died. The motor (or belt) that drove the tape would no longer actually drive it, and so no message would get recorded. I proceeded directly to Amazon to order the 8232, but found that it was only available via a market place seller. This gave me pause and made me wonder what newer Panasonic model had replaced it, which led me to the KX-TG1032S.
So, hoping for the best, I ordered it.
Well, let me tell you, I am very glad I did! I wrote a review for it on Amazon, but it won't be up for a day or so. However, you can read the features and other reviews there for more info. In short, it's got good ergonomics, is well built, has great range, good sound quality, incredible talk time, an exceptionally good speakerphone built into each handset, and uses two AAA NiMH batteries. You can also intercom between handsets, and up to three handsets can be on the same line at a time, with each other, or with each other and an outside caller. And, each handset has a socket for a headset to plug into.
The sound quality isn't quite as good as my old Sony, which was indistinguishable from corded phones, but it's still very good, and doesn't seem to be bothered by interference and walls and so on.
Perhaps I am just late to the game and most people know about the Panasonic cordless phones, but I'm guessing that maybe a lot of other people wouldn't mind a recommendation for a new, decent, cordless phone. For what it's worth, here it is!
So, for a long time now I have been worrying: what will I do when my Sony SPP-AQ25 dies? What could possibly replace it? I've purchased two or three cordless phones for my parents and in-laws over the last five or so years, and have used various peoples cordless phones at different times, and have never been happy with the phones. They all fell far, far short of my own. They had poor sound quality, poor range, were small and difficult to use, and were just plain cheap. And many of them had awful talk times due to dead or dying battery packs.
Well, a year or so ago, I looked into the issue more thoroughly, hoping to find a replacement before it was needed, and to my relief I discovered the Panasonic DECT 6.0 phones. DECT stands for digital enhanced cordless telecommunications, and works in a frequency range that will not interfere with your wireless router or other wireless devices likely to be found in a home. Like a cell phone, it's a digital spread spectrum setup, as opposed to discrete channels, and thus is a lot more secure than the older cordless phones.
Anyway, at the time I first researched things, I liked the KX-TG8232 best of the Panasonic line, but when I tried out the handsets in person at Target, I wasn't entirely pleased with how they felt, with their ergonomics. I also thought the color LCD of the 8232 was maybe unnecessary. So, I kept on using my decade old Sony, although I kept the 8232 in mind.
Then, a month or so ago the answering machine part of my Sony phone died. The motor (or belt) that drove the tape would no longer actually drive it, and so no message would get recorded. I proceeded directly to Amazon to order the 8232, but found that it was only available via a market place seller. This gave me pause and made me wonder what newer Panasonic model had replaced it, which led me to the KX-TG1032S.
So, hoping for the best, I ordered it.
Well, let me tell you, I am very glad I did! I wrote a review for it on Amazon, but it won't be up for a day or so. However, you can read the features and other reviews there for more info. In short, it's got good ergonomics, is well built, has great range, good sound quality, incredible talk time, an exceptionally good speakerphone built into each handset, and uses two AAA NiMH batteries. You can also intercom between handsets, and up to three handsets can be on the same line at a time, with each other, or with each other and an outside caller. And, each handset has a socket for a headset to plug into.
The sound quality isn't quite as good as my old Sony, which was indistinguishable from corded phones, but it's still very good, and doesn't seem to be bothered by interference and walls and so on.
Perhaps I am just late to the game and most people know about the Panasonic cordless phones, but I'm guessing that maybe a lot of other people wouldn't mind a recommendation for a new, decent, cordless phone. For what it's worth, here it is!
