Why buy cordless phones?

Walking and talking

Why buy cordless phones? Convenience. It's a simple answer, but then cordless phones are a simple solution. Eliminating the phone cord means you can walk freely around your home, or even outside, without interrupting a conversation.

Cordless phones also tend to have a longer battery life than cell phones, and because they're larger than cell phones, you can cradle your cordless phone on your shoulder to free up your hands, or even use a cordless headset phone.

How do cordless phones work?

Cordless phones are basically two-way radios. Your cordless phone sends radio waves to its base station, which is connected to a telephone landline. Unlike standard phones, that base station requires electricity to operate.

Because they're radios, cordless phones communicate at different radio frequencies. Cordless phone frequencies have gotten higher over time, though what that means is often misunderstood. Higher cordless phone frequencies don't necessarily improve audio quality or range. Signal strength is responsible for those improvements.

Higher cordless phone frequencies are better because fewer electronic devices are using that bandwidth to communicate, and less traffic means less signal interference. Also, higher cordless phone frequencies have an easier time passing through walls and other obstacles. Cordless phone frequencies used today are 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and the highest, 5.8 GHz.

One security feature you should know about cordless phones is analog vs. digital. Analog cordless phones communicate over one channel only, making it easy for someone to eavesdrop on your conversations using a scanner.

Digital cordless phones will digitize your voice to combat this, and DSS (digital spread spectrum) cordless phones can spread your conversation across multiple frequencies.

What are the best cordless phones available today?

Cordless phone reviews tend to indicate that Uniden cordless phones are receiving the best cordless phone ratings from consumers and critics.

One popular Uniden cordless phone is the Uniden TRU8885-2 5.8 GHz digital cordless phone. This Uniden cordless phone features caller ID, speakerphone, and comes with a second handset and charging cradle.

This particular Uniden cordless phone is also expandable up to 10 handsets. Expandable cordless phones permit you to add additional cordless phones around your home or office while still using just the initial phone jack. This is especially useful with multi line cordless phones or two line cordless phones.

Panasonic cordless phones are considered some of the best cordless phones in cordless phone reviews. The Panasonic KX-TG5433M 5.8 GHz DSS cordless phone has received great cordless phone ratings. This Panasonic cordless phone includes 3 handsets, 2 chargers, and numerous features such as 3-line caller ID and the ability to conference between handsets.

Some VTech cordless phones also received great cordless phone ratings in cordless phone reviews, and there are other cordless phone brands on the market such as GE, Motorola, and Sony.

What about cordless phone accessories?

For total convenience, a cordless headset phone would completely free your hands up for work or play or taking care of children. However, if you have a wireless network, look for a cordless headset phone that won't experience interference issues.

And since a cordless phone handset does run on batteries, keep a cordless phone replacement battery on hand. Most cordless phone replacement batteries last a year or two depending on use and recharging habits.

More information on cordless phones