While life without a mobile phone is impossible to comprehend, the humble landline still has a role to play in day-to-day communication, be it for domestic or home office use, and Panasonic’s “ruggedised” handset, which launched this summer, is a decent contender if you are looking to upgrade.
The cordless KX-TG6481ET may not sport a memorable name, but it has been designed to be one of the company’s toughest models yet. Although I was unable to test its durability to the max, Panasonic assures buyers the phone is able to withstand being splashed with liquids, knocked or dropped. At the launch, a unit was frozen in a block of ice, and apparently still functioned perfectly the next day.
However, unless you have unwieldy children who have a propensity to steal your phone and bury it in the garden, or you happen to be cursed with butter fingers, it is unlikely that the apparent toughness of the 6481 will make you choose it over any other home phone.
So what does it have to offer beyond this? As far as looks go, it is quite chunky (21.4cm x 6.8cm x 17.5cm) and has matt-black, slightly rubbery sides, and a sleek face, giving it a rather masculine aesthetic. Along with a 1.8-inch orange LCD screen it has good-sized individual illuminated dial buttons and an easy-to-navigate menu system.
For me, the tangerine-colour back light and grey on-screen text looked a little bit “eighties”, especially now that I am used to the slick displays of iPhones and the like. But this is simply a matter of personal taste as opposed to a flaw. Standard features that you would expect also include a hands-free option and an integrated digital answering system.
The phone book can store up to 100 names and numbers, and caller ID can be set-up. It also has a ten-number redial memory. After fully charging, the phone should provide up to 18-hours of talk time (170 hours standby time), which is good if you are someone has tends to forget to put it back on the base after use. If you can’t remember where in the house you left it, a useful function of the solid black unit allows you to call the handset to help you locate it.
Additional handsets are available for those who want phones in more than one room.
Pros Durability, easy-to-navigate menu system and clear speakers
Cons Old-school orange display
Price £59.99 (single) £89.99 (twin)
Contact panasonic.com
Jenny Southan
