Panasonic KX-TCD 650 > Reviews (1)

The Panasonic KX-TCD650E is an attractive, small, lightweight cordless phone. It is these facts that made it stand out on the shelf when I was looking to replace my old BT cordless.

The phone is actually dark navy, but looks black in some lights. It comes with a base unit which attachs to your telephone line socket and mains power. The handset itself runs on two AA size batteries which can be found in the back of the phone. Initially these batteries require a 15 hour charge whilst the handset is resting on its base unit. After this initial charge, battery life averages at 20 hours talktime, and 100 hours standby time, so you can go quite a while before having to recharge the batteries.

On the phone's display there is an icon that represents battery power levels, and this will flash and an alarm sounds if the battery level is very low.

The phone can be left in standby mode, or can be completely switched off, just like a mobile telephone, and it even has a key lock to prevent you dialling numbers by accident.

The display will show the number you wish to call, and if you have Caller ID set up on your phone, it will show who's calling you. I find this quite useful when it comes to avoiding phonecalls from work!!

The phone will store 50 callers phone numbers with Caller ID, and will save the last 10 dialled numbers making it easier to return people's calls or to redial numbers used frequently.

20 speed dial numbers can be stored in the phones memory, and 9 numbers can be saved as Hot Key numbers.

The handset includes an alarm which can be set to go off at the same time each day, and 20 ringtones to choose from. You can also adjust the ringer volume from the handset and choose what display, i.e. clock, you want the phone to have when in standby mode. The handset has a pin number which you can change to one that suits you. This can stop others using the phone without permission.

From the base unit, you can select the required base unit ringing volume and, if more than one handset is used with the base, you can choose which of them you wish to ring when an incoming call is received. You can also restrict certain calls from being made from any of the handsets recognised by the base unit.

It is also possible to hold conference calls if more than one handset is available.

The calls made and received have all been clear and the person at the end of the phone has had no problems hearing me.

You can move up to 250 metres away from the base unit and still receive calls, which is ideal for me when I'm out in the garden.

I have found no problems with the phone to date. It is nice looking, with silver and black keys and an easy to see display. The only difficulty I had was relating the users manual to certain things they told you to do to the phone, but I think this was more a problem on my part, rather than the phone itself.

I bought my Panasonic from Comet for the price of £49.99, but am sure it can be bought from other retail outlets including Argos and Currys.