Help choosing a good quality cordless phone

[swingerofbirch]

I know it's a bit of an old-tech question in this day of iPhones and whoze-its and whatz-its galore, but I am looking for some advice on a solid cordless phone. I don't need one of those multiple handset set-ups. I want three things: good battery life, solid voice quality, and a built in speakerphone.

I recently bought this one from Amazon based on the positive reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FFD7XM/104-7159750-1070346

Maybe I just got a bad one, but the voice quality is really bad, people can barely hear me, especially when using speakerphone and it makes a series of really weird beeps at random times, like a fast tone sound. So anyhow, I'm returning it.

Also wondering if a certain frequency works best given that I have a wireless router in the same room.

To review: solid phone, solid voice quality, good battery life, and a speakerphone.

Thanks!!!!

 

[JNB]

I've had both Panasonic and Uniden, both absolutely terrific, but I think the Uniden line is broader and a better value overall. I had an AT&T years ago, and it was crap out of the box.

Most of them have a satellite handset, which doesn't require a second phone jack; it connects wirelessly to the base set. Nice to have one in the garage or patio, I guess.

I like a base set with speakerphone and digital answering machine. Very handy! Most handsets also accept a headset, as well (2.5mm jack, IIRC).

Frequencies are 2.4 & 5.8 GHz now. I'd recommend the 5.8. A touch more expensive, but really not much (maybe 5-10% tops), and has less sensitivity to most RF interference in the house.

Battery life is fairly similar among brands and price groups, but most are good for 2-3 hours of continuous talk.

 

[zero2dash]

I just bought a Motorola E51 5.8ghz set tonight to replace a dying Uniden 5.8ghz set. Maybe it's just my experience, but it seems like Uniden products are getting worse and worse...I've had problems with the last few Uniden phones I've owned.

Anyhow - if you're using or planning on getting WiFi, I recommend 5.8ghz phones because from what I understand, WiFi works at the 2.4ghz spectrum so 2.4ghz phones will interfere with the WiFi signal (and vice versa). 5.8ghz eliminates this problem.

AT&T products are generally ok to mediocre, as are GE.
Phones...I've had good luck with V-Tech before. Uniden...I'm torn about. Used to love Uniden products but again the last few I've had weren't that good. The Motorola's I picked up earlier look promising.

Check around...I went into a Target store and found the phone I wanted to get on clearance. Originally I was going to get the 2 handset pack for $64 from Walmart.com but didn't want to wait (because our existing Uniden cordless phones are bad now, and we need a phone, obviously). Well Target had the Motorolas I wanted on clearance for $49, and they had the same Motorolas in a 3 handset pack for an extra $10, $59. I paid the extra ten and got the third handset. Even if we don't use it much, an extra handset for $10 is a steal (considering if you buy them later on down the road, they're usually $20+ for an extra add-on handset).

This is what we bought.
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.htm...-5111350?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000F9Y9SA
(Well, ours came with 3 handsets. Same everything else though. Sticker price was $119, clearance price of $59.)

Yeah, and check on batteries too.
Most older phones use Nickel Cadium which is crap. Over time the batteries hold less and less of a charge. (Our old Unidens were NiCad.) Our new Motorolas came with NiMh (Nickel Metal Hydride) which are rechargeables that do not suffer from the charge 'memory effect' and always hold a strong charge no matter when or how often you charge them. I'd recommend only buying a phone with NiMh batteries.