Cordless Phones Buying Guide
from Overstock.comWhen telephones were first invented, you had to be right there at the wall to use them. Today's electronics allow cordless phone users to carry a cordless phone around and use it anywhere in the house, giving you more freedom in your communications. This cordless phone buying guide will help you figure out how to buy a cordless phone that really meet your needs.
Cordless phone buying tips
Also called portable phones, cordless phones have changed a lot since coming on the market about 30 years ago. Several technologies for telephone sets overlap, among which you can chose:
Format
Analog: This is the tight-budget option. Analog cordless phones are fully serviceable, but users will experience more line noise, and these phones broadcast in the clear, meaning it's common to find the signal being picked up by radio scanners.
Digital: These compare to analog phones the way CDs compares to cassette tapes. Reception is clearer; also, security is higher because digital signals are not as easy for scanners to read as analog signals.
Digital Spread Spectrum: DSS is a very secure telephone technology; the phone chops the conversation into short sections, each section being sent on a rotating series of frequencies.
Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications: DECT is the newest mode, a European import which gained FCC approval in 2005. It is designed specifically to allow several handsets to connect via WiFi and to operate through one base unit, then through the base unit to regular phone service. At 1.9GHz, it is interference free and doesn't intrude on wireless computers or other devices.
Frequency
900MHz: The old standard, 900MHz phones are still available, but the frequency's popularity is decreasing fast because so many users crowd the range.
2.4GHz: Far superior in range and security over 900MHz, it has one downside: the 2.4GHz frequency was chosen for home wireless networks, increasing the probability of interference.
5.8GHz: With a similar range and security to 2.4GHz and fewer users, this frequency makes for less interference. WiFi users should step up to 5.8GHz for cordless phones.
Features
Batteries: Cordless phones use rechargeable batteries:
- Nickel-cadmium: Ni-Cd batteries are durable, small and inexpensive, but they suffer from the "memory effect." If recharged while there is still energy in the cell, they won't fully recharge.
- Nickel-Metal Hydride: Ni-MH batteries have twice the capacity of Ni-Cds; they don't suffer memory effect, but they are pricier.
- Lithium: Li-ion batteries are very light and don't suffer memory effect; they can be manufactured in more shapes than other technologies to fit a wider variety of electronics.
Bluetooth: Some new-model cordless phones can attach to cell phone services through your cell phone's Bluetooth network.
Channels: Each frequency band is divided into channels; cordless phones scan these channels and locate those with minimal traffic or interference, which can be very useful in crowded neighborhoods.
- Inexpensive 900MHz phones may have as few as 10 to 25.
- Mid-price 900MHz phones feature 20 to 60.
- High-quality 900MHz phones, 2.4GHz phones and 5.8GHz phones boast 50 to 100.
Dual key pads: If the base has a corded phone or speaker phone and the handset has a keypad, you effectively have two phones for the price of one.
Cordless phone components
Handset
Handsets contain all the same equipment as corded phones, plus a transceiver and batteries. Some phones have just one handset; others include several or are designed to let you add additional handsets to the base unit (sometimes called expandable phones). Multi-handset phones can also operate as intercom systems--a useful feature in a big house or small office.
Base station
A base station can be simply a connector (to a local telephone line or the Internet), a handset recharger and a transceiver ["transmitter-receiver"] to support the handset. Base stations are plugged into the house power grid. Mid-grade models might bring in an LCD display and speaker plus call waiting/caller ID capabilities. Full service base units may include multiple phone lines, a digital phone book, speed dial, a corded handset, answering machine, clock, radio and more.
Cordless phone terminology
Duplex frequency: Each phone uses two frequencies: the base transmits on frequency A and receives frequency B, and the handset transmits on frequency B and receives frequency A. This allows you to talk and listen at the same time.
Plain Old Telephone Service: POTS are the traditional local telephone service providers (also known as the "Baby Bells," since they were all part of Bell Telephone Company years ago).
Cordless phone care
It couldn't be simpler: read the owner's manual and follow its instructions. With basic common sense precautions (don't drop the phone, get it wet or leave it in direct sunlight), your telephone might last until it's a technological dinosaur.
Other cordless phone features
Answering machine: choose between cassette and digital recording.
Call Waiting / Caller ID: may require a separate subscription fee to your POTS.
Conference calling: get three or more people involved in one call.
Hold or mute button: stop the conversation temporarily without hanging up.
Individual ring tones: so you know who is calling.
Multiple-line: standard phone wires can take up to four lines.
Paging: contact the base station from the handset or vice versa.
Remote access: get phone messages by calling in from work or somewhere else.
Wall mounts: almost universal, but not every model has one.
Do I need a second line?
A phone line can only carry on one conversation at a time. If you're using dial-up and you hook your computer and phone to a single line, then only one device can be on that line at a time -- inconvenient! Any home's wiring should support up to four separate phone lines (meaning separate telephone numbers); use one for the phone, one for the computer and save the others for later expansion.
Is a headset a good accessory?
A telephone headset is a great phone accessory. A headset allows "hands free" conversation, and most cordless phones have a headset jack.
Get on the Web
Phone service, like almost everything else, is now available via the Internet. IP phones are new technology, so look for more and better IP phones every year.
Get out of the house
But keep in touch with any of the great cell phones and plans from Overstock.com.
Get a backup
Every home should have a corded phone for emergencies. POTS (local phone companies) operate on internal power and corded phones run on the POTS circuit. Cordless phones are plugged into the local power grid; if the grid goes down, cordless phones go with it. If the outage last more than a day or two, your cell battery will almost certainly run dry, assuming the cell towers are even operating. Sometimes, old technology is more reliable than new.