Panasonic TG6481

The basics

The pure black, shiny frontage of the Panasonic TG6481 DECT handset should mean it sits in most rooms looking like a neat little monolith ready to spring into action to answer calls as needed. Its 50 caller log, Caller ID support and 18 hours of talk time should keep most of us happy. But it is the rugged feature that steal the headlines.

The good

Here’s the DECT handset you just might be able to drop in the bath while on a call. OK, maybe that is taking things a bit far, but it is splash resistant so you could maybe plop it in the sink while you are peeling the spuds. It is also solid enough to survive dropping. So when Aunt Joan rings to tell you she’s won the lottery and you drop the phone in shock it just might survive the fall. Course if you jump up and down on it in frustration that you didn’t win, it probably won’t survive. The system supports up to 6 handsets, so if you’re a pretty unruly family there’s scope for everybody.

The bad

The answerphone in the base only has 20 minutes of storage so Aunt Joan won’t be able to talk for too long on how she intends to spend her winnings (actually, maybe that’s a plus!) The 1.8-inch screen is monochrome and there’s only room for 100 numbers in each handset.

The bottom line

It is the water and drop resistance that make this phone desirable. Shame Panasonic couldn’t have used a nicer, brighter, bigger, colourful screen and upped the general specs a bit. Still, we recommend that you hit this DECT.