I have had the Panasonic 2 line system since last November and I really enjoy its feautres. Even some companies fail to offer the features of this phone. Here is my own review from personal everyday use. I won't explain the answering machine in detail as it is a straight forward easy to use machine with 5 greetings and ring selections (2-7).  
 
Answering Machine secret: There is a secret that I found out when I was playing around with the system seeing which settings I like. On the answering system you can set up the main message and direct callers to different voicemail extensions. It works like the automated attendant system so I don't see why Panasonic added this feature to the system. Any idea?  
 
Automated Attendant System:  
 
This system has 5 greetings on two lines. You can program the same greeting on both lines. For the pre-recorded greeting it is a bland lady saying"Automated Attendent System please enter the extension you wish to reach". Change this before you play around with the settings. I love being able to call my house and press the extension number followed by the pound sign and it says "Please wait a moment". It can also say "Sorry this line is busy" when someone is on their extension and it lets you leave a message following the incomplete call handilng menu which is simple to use.  
 
It can even say "Sorry there is no space for recording" when your mailbox is full. It will let you loop-back to the main greeting by pressing 2. No more hang-ups. Now let me tell you you can not program the greetings for the time of day. So lets say you are working at a company the receptionist will have to manually change the greetings. It also has no dial-by-name directory found on PBX only systems.  
 
Voicemail:If you want your phone to go into voicemail after 2 rings it can. This feature is called forward no answer like on company phones if you don't pick up after 2 rings it will go right into your voicemail and your personal greeting will play. If you have this feature turned off in the menu on your handset then it will ring 5 times and play the generic greeting which is ok but don't you want your own greeting ?  
 
You have the option of 50 minutes or 100 minutes of recording time including the Automated Attendant greetings. I have never used up all the time even with all the messsages our household gets. You can easily access your messages while you are away from your desk by calling in the main number and pressing */SYM then your 4 digit passcode.  
 
Another Voicemail secret:  
If you need to check the receptionist mailbox(Reffered to as The General Delivery Mailbox) you can press 4 then after the messages are heard then press 4 again and it will get you back to your mailbox. Everything is a single call operation on this system.  
 
Voicemail/system cons: I don't like that the General Delivery Mailbox only has the generic greeting. I like to be able to say( Were sorry there is no receptionist available please leave a message. Also there is no quick messaging by pressing ** twice and having it say enter the destination for your message. This can only be done if you are logged into your mailbox.  
 
Also having to press #/# to get an extension is a minor con. There is no automatic transfer to the receptionist if no action is taken. At some companies it will say"Invalid entry transferring to an attendant one moment please".  
 
Operator Counsle: The main unit with the operator rings 5 times you got that right then it plays a generic greeting. Also if you are on a rotary dial phone you have to wait for the main greeting to play 3 times it is good for tone users and bad for other rotary users.  
 
No Dial By Name Directory:  
This needs to be added because it is easier for people to get into extensions. For instance it could say to dial by name press 411 then the caller would be insturcted from there.  
 
Handset Registration:  
Oh my! You have to buy a handset for each extension. There is no way of saving money by just having a "guest mailbox" where it goes right to voicemail wihtout rining the extension. Oh well.  
 
Name Directory:  
You can store a lot of your friends names and numbers in the phonebook directory. A good feature for all of us.  
 
Caller ID:  
I don't use this feature but the manual says that it will tell how many times a caller called.  
 
I can go on and on on this phone system. If you want to discuss this system please email me at vipclub@msn.com. If there is any professionals out there I would like to discuss voicemail systems(Nortel,Toshiba Panasonic etc) as this is my hobby and a possible career.  
 
 
