I purchased this for use in a Panasonic KXTC-1503. It works well, holds a charge, and is a great value for the price.

Bought this at the end of February, and by June it would no longer hold a charge. The phone says “low battery” as soon as it’s off the charger, and dies after a few minutes of talk time.

2 stars because the battery did work fine for a few months…

Did not work that well for me: the setup gave issues with the online website. Client service only responded once with promise to have tech expert call back. Never did. Still waiting, after 2 weeks, for answers to online queries and you get parked in ‘hold’ limbo when you call.

The monthly plans are not good at all and YOU CANNOT REMOVE THEM once you sign up. the only way is client service, but they do not answer the phone nor the mails.

Lastly: the connections have been hit and miss. Tried QoS on router but did not really help. Do not think it is my DSL since I use that with no problems for video conferencing and XBOX Live.
Anyways, nice looking phone, but they are not ready to support it.
This can only get worse now that they are throwing the phones online for bargain prices: spike in bandwidth, overwhelmed support. Bad bad.

Ok, so we’re not ready to totally cut the cord yet and go fully VoIP. We still want the local POTS phone service in case of (knock on wood, hopefully not) an emergency where we need 911. VoIP does not give you real 911 in your city, you get connected to some call center in who knows where. No thanks.

We were paying AT&T $15/month for unlimited long distance, which was a good deal a few years ago, but now with the cell phones we don’t use long distance at home much. Only a few hours, it shouldn’t be more than $5/month.

The Globarange is one of the only devices available in the US that lets you use your regular home phone, has an answering machine, and lets you make long distance calls over the Internet with VoIP.

I did not sign up for a JoIP plan other than the pay as you go. It is very reasonable, it’s like 1.5 cents/minute in the US for long distance (and free to call other JoIP users; I am trying to get my family to sign up). I have a family member moving overseas this summer and it is only a few cents a minute more for overseas calls to him. If he gets a JoIP phone there, it will be free

The phone is easy to set up. You plug it into your router and into your PSTN (regular phone jack). I have mine hooked up to an Apple Airport Extreme base station I am using in “WDS” mode because I don’t have a phone and internet jack in the same room. Works fine, no problems.

Voice call quality is excellent over both the VoIP and PSTN modes. The VoIP mode (internet call) connects very quickly. I have a high speed internet connection from Comcast (15mbs down, 1.5-2 mbs up) and have not noticed any quality problems.

The phone itself is easy to use (we came from another Panasonic cordless, the interface is similar). The answering machine works. It is easy to choose either IP or PSTN based calling (orange button or green button).

I would highly recommend this phone system for people who want to benefit from the MUCH cheaper long distance and overseas rates possible with VoIP but do not want to give up their regular phone service for various reasons (911, etc).

I tried the Skype dual mode phones but they are awful. The sound quality is awful, the phones are very slow to respond, and they do not have an answering machine. Skype is a great deal at only $3 for unlimited long distance (ie what they used to call SkypeOut) but the standalone phones are NOT ready for prime time.

I have heard there are issues with Panasonic/JoIP customer service but I have never called them.

The only downside of this device is you are locked into the Panasonic/JoIP branded VOIP service. You cannot use it with any other SIP provider that may have better rates to where you are trying to call. Actually, however, if you are highly technically inclined, do a google search for “globarange and asterisk” and you can manage this issue. Not worth it to me, personally.

Right now in the US there are no alternatives to this device. Overseas, Phillips sells a very well regarded phone line called Gigaset IP that has a dual mode IP + PSTN phone including answering machine that you can use with any VoIP provider you want. But it’s very expensive and not available in the US right now.

The Panasonic can be had for $60-70 and the extension handsets are only $30.

I am very happy with this purchase and cannot recommend it highly enough! Get one!

This is my second set of vtech phones. Had the first set for several years before they needed to be replaced due to LCD fading out. Did not want a set with answering machine as I have one on my land line. These phones are great for intercom between the two. Tried other brands and feel vtech is the best for my needs.

I spent 40 minutes comparing phones at the local store.
I decided on this model and I am pleased for the following reasons:

-Easy to set up
-Intuitive key pad functions.
-Backlit Keypad
-You can cradle the phone between your ear and shoulder bone without it slipping away
-You can hook it to your belt and talk on the speakerphone without much echo or distortion.
-The handset function as walkie-talkies which can reach each other at a distance of 300 feet from my home down the street and around the block!

-They key pad is slick plastic which resists dirt and cleans easily.

-the price of $74 was reasonable for a dual-phone unit

-phone does not interfer with my wireless network

Cons: Caller Id does not refer to user defined names in address book
CA Cellular still comes up that way even if you have “Gary my Hunk” listed in the address book.

Have always bought Uniden cordless phones b/c they are the best based on my experience with multiple brands. I upgraded from my Uniden 5.8 ghz phones to this model simply b/c I wanted more handsets. This phone is only average. Problems include shorter range for reception compared to previous Uniden models, low volume on both speaker phone and regular settings, no speed dial, and funny shape so that it will not stand up if you want to set it down to talk hands-free. Also, instead of the display lighting up when you have a voice mail message, you only get a tiny icon showing–so it is not as obvious to see you have a message waiting. And, if you want a wall mount for the base unit, you have to order it separately from Uniden directly for additional cost. Summary: average cordless phone, fair price for that many handsets, but does not live up to Uniden reputation.

I have bought and used Panasonic phones and answering system for over a decade and have always been very satisfied, so when buying a new one naturally I bought Panasonic, plus this was a great price.

Unfortunately the sound quality was very poor, (outgoing recording, messages and the phone itself) – so much so that I returned it. Also I could not adjust the volume on the phone (or I could not find it easily in the menus…)

Other than that, great features, solidly built and very attractive.

Note to larger people: The phone is also very small, you just might have trouble pressing a single key.

I love this phone. It has so many features to it, more than I realized. I works like a charm, and is very easy to program. The sound is good, both incoming and outgoing. It is just the right size, not big and clunky, but just right. You will not get a better choice for the price. I have always had good luck with Panasonic products, and this is a great one too. I highly recommend this phone unit.

My wife and I bought this system because it was attractive and we needed 2-Lines. I also had previously bought and used a single line model from Uniden and it seemed to work OK.

First we couldn’t find extension units on sale anywhere. So I sent an e-mail to Uniden asking why they weren’t even on their website. No response. So I sent another e-mail. Again, no response. I should have known something was up.

We finally located some extension handsets and started to use the system. As soon as we made some calls people on the other end would tell us they couldn’t hear us or that we sounded like we were calling from “underwater”. I thought it was THEIR phone. Then, randomly, certain of the extensions (we have 6 handsets total) wouldn’t dial or connect to the base station. So we had to play “handset roulette” to find one that eventually worked.

I’ve invested over $400 in this system and it’s basically worthless. My fault for buying a “piece of junk” from a company that won’t respond to customer inquiries. I’m ordering a Panasonic 2-liner and cutting my losses by tossing this on the trash heap.

Buyer Beware!