First with the negatives:

- Both myself, and the friend who I talked into buying the phone are both getting the same error and it is increasingly becoming worse. After dialing a number and hitting either the “talk” or “speaker phone” button a “Busy” is often displayed on the screen and the phone refuses to dial. This went from happening once or twice a week to everyday.

- Since day one there has been a bit of a hollow tinny noise on both of our phones but the clarity and lack of “fuzz” was fantastic so I was willing to overlook this.

- Certain display functions come and go. Luckily none of them are important… yet. For example, the lines that make up the outline of the battery on the display of the phone come and go as they please. This has happened to the [] that surrounds the number of the phone.

- Not enough room for contacts. I am not a phonebook person and love to store tons of numbers on the phone. Not enough for me but your needs may be different.

- I know this is nitpicky and no stars were lost for this but I miss the alarm “snooze button” feature on my last phone so that the phone by my bed was my alarm clock as well. Made the bedside table less cluttered. No snooze button here.

Positives:

- That is one loud or quiet ringer depending on the setting… wonderful!

- The speaker phone function is the best I have had on a phone thus far.

- The charge lasts forever. For once a company is not exaggerating their claim about how long the batteries last.. in fact I think they last longer than Panasonic claims. A downside to this, I no longer put the phones on the charger at night (or during the day) and can never seem to find them. (Again, no stars lost for my laziness).

- The range on this phone is fabulous. My last phone worked at the neighbors house with much “fuzz.” I can go over to my neighbors and it works in every room of their house with no interference or noise.

- This phone does not freak out when I use my microwave. Most phones I have used do. Yeahhhhhh!!!!

- Although I don’t use it (because it is creepy)I like the call screening function on the phone. I live in a small house and hearing my friends and family leave messages from three phones in surround sound is too much. If I was in a two story home I would be obsessed with this. Also could be great for when you are in the shower to hear the message being left. If it is the cable company finally calling you back after weeks of phone tag it would be worth jumping out and grabbing it.

All-in-all I have been extremely pleased with the phone and, until the recent errors, would have given the phone four stars because of the battery life, speakerphone quality, and range. These frequent errors (and the fact that someone I know is having this problem too) knocks off a star as a warning to others out there that a non-isolated problem does exist on this fairly fabulous phone.

The KX-TG1033S, however, is a refreshingly great wireless phone system that finally gets it right. Extremely intelligent software plays messages through every unit when call screening, likewise playback of the answering machine is available from each handset. Related, the LCD display is very sharp, ring (and tones) very customizable. (If you’re so inclined, each of the 3 units can play a different tone upon ring.) Love the detailed status information when the phone is not in use.

Most importantly, call clarity is outstanding. Standard and speaker are both surprisingly strong, crystal clear over digital phone service. There is no disparity across any of the 3 units based on physical location and/or being housed in the base answering machine. (A common flaw in other expandable wireless phone systems.) I’ve likewise encountered no range difficulties even when fielding calls in the front/back yards. Not a hiss, signal loss, nothing. The ability to transfer calls, intercom to other units is nothing short of awesome.

A couple of minor glitches worth noting: The Panasonic Menu IS as complicated as advertised. There is a learning curve — albeit small — in how to navigate them before features can truly be maximized. You will be reading the instruction manual, unfortunately. Moreover, the initial charge/battery calibration takes FOREVER. ((Be prepared for a half a day (or more) without your new phones.)) Battery life, however, seems infinite following this early lesson in patience.

Second, there is no graphical display on the answering machine. Thus, number of missed calls/messages becomes unfortunate guesswork. Arguably the greatest tradeoff of a system this high in quality.

These misgivings aside, the KX-TG1033S comes very highly recommended, at a very attractive price point to boot. Sister, high quality expandable systems can cost upwards of a hundred dollars more.

FYI: You might find yourself unable to pull caller ID up on your phones if attached to a fax machine. This is easily remedied via a cheap splitter (despite contradictory info from Panasonic tech support).