Cordless Phones Evolve in a New “Cell Phone World”

Your cordless phone may look like a relic from forgotten ages next to you’re cell phone, but it still has a place in the homes of today. 

The cordless phone you used for years is changing to maintain its usefulness in a world embracing the cell phone at a feverish pace.  Many are evolving to the cell phone environment by letting you make and take calls on your cell-phone account, while others attempt to increase customer satisfaction by using techniques to reduce or eliminate the interference caused by home networks and other wireless devices around your home.  Many of these new coreless phones are just starting to appear in the marketplace and are representative of only a few examples we looked at in our survey.  If you’re looking at purchasing a new cordless phone right now, the ones we’ve looked at may not be on top of your list, given the sparse selection and comparatively high prices.  Despite this let’s take a quick look at what you’re likely to see in the near future.

Bluetooth enabled phones allow some cordless models, ones that are able to connect into cell phone service using wireless Bluetooth technology, to take and receive calls over either service.

1.9 gigahertz cordless phones, called DECT phones (digitally enhanced cordless telecommunications), solve the interference problem caused by devices all sharing the same 2.4 GHz frequency band by using the 1.9 GHz band, reserved originally by the Federal Communications Commission exclusively for voice-only applications.

Clearing up those wireless interference problems in your phone environmentMany wireless products, such as cordless phones, home networks, and baby monitors, share the same 2.4 GHz radio frequency bands when in use.  As a result, they’re likely to interfere with each others normal operation and performance.  Interference can cause static on a cordless phone, a baby monitor, and wireless computer networks and often in wireless speaker systems.  If you want to minimize the possible interference in the wireless systems operating in your home the following three suggestions should help you keep this to a minimum.1.       When you purchase any item, not just cordless phones, make sure you can exchange the phone, in case the interference is persistent no matter what you do.2.       Make sure you choose a cordless phone that operates on the 5.8 GHz, 1.9 GHz, or 900 megahertz band.  These frequencies are not as pervasive as 2.4 GHz devices and are less likely to cause or receive interference in the wireless environment in which you use your cordless phone.  If you’re looking for a multiple-handset capable cordless phone with handset-to-handset talk capability, choose a cordless phone that uses only the 5.8 GHz or 1.9 GHz band.  By comparison, nearly all phones using 2.4 GHz digital spread spectrum (DSS) technology and those that allow handset-to-handset talk may create interference in the wireless environment, some even while there in standby mode.  DSS cordless phones advertised as “802.11-friendly” are unlikely to interfere with wireless computer networks, but depending on the set up and the devices involved could cause interference in other wireless devices.  Whenever you notice, make sure to keep a 2.4 GHz analog phone out of the kitchen area, if possible.  This is because microwave ovens can cause interference in these cordless phones when in operation.3.       One of the simplest, yet hardly ever remembered ways to solve a lot of interference problems around the environment is to simply change the channel of your wireless product.  Almost all wireless products allow the user to change channels while in operation to solve interference problems in the operating environment.  On most it’s as simple as pushing a button or sliding a switch in a certain direction. 

  If you’re just looking for a conventional cordless phone for your home or office, there’s a bit of good news to report about these devices as well.  The price of these devices has been dropping significantly in the last year or so, dropping about 10% over the last thirteen months, with the largest drop among the digital cordless phones sold.

  The names of the companies making cordless phones will be familiar to many of you, AT&T, GE Panasonic, and VTech account for the majority of the models on the market.  VTech currently owns the AT&T Consumer Products Division and now makes cordless phones under the umbrella of the AT&T brand name as well as its own.

  The most recently sold cordless phones include models that support two or more handsets with a single base, including less expensive 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz analog cordless phones and full-featured 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz digital phones for a few more shekels.  Of all the cordless phones we looked at about a third included a digital answering machine in the package, so take a close look at the capability of any cordless phone your considering purchasing.

  That’s it for now on cordless phones; join us for the next hub in this series where we will discuss the features available with the cordless phone you’re going to purchase.

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