Cordless Phone Review

DECT phones dominate in reviews

As more and more people drop their land-line phones to go cell-only, professional review sources increasingly ignore cordless phones -- except for ConsumerReports.org, which recently tested 34 of them. After a long hiatus, CNET also recently tested a pair of cordless phones. Good Housekeeping magazine's tests are very old, but at least one top performer is current and several other phones discussed can still be found in stores. Non-U.S. consumer-affairs publications such as Britain's Which? and Australia's Choice are primarily useful for residents of their home countries as the specific cordless phones reviewed are not available here. However those reports do provide a bit of guidance on which brands get the most respect. Otherwise, owner-written reviews at Amazon.com, Staples.com, BestBuy.com, Target.com, RadioShack.com and elsewhere are the best places to find any sort of feedback on new cordless phone models.

Cordless phones used to be plagued by interference. Even microwave ovens could mess up the reception. Anything wireless -- cell phones, Wi-Fi routers, baby monitors and game controllers -- made the problem worse. But the latest cordless phones sidestep static with a newer technology called Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT). These operate at 1.9 GHz, a frequency band that's reserved for voice communications -- so no more interference from cordless video-game controllers and the like. It's also more secure; the neighbors won't overhear your conversation on their baby monitor.

Users report that DECT phones really do sound clear. At first, DECT phones cost more than others, but prices have dropped. A good basic DECT phone like the AT&T EL51209 (*Est. $40) costs no more than analog cordless phones -- which are getting hard to find in stores anyway. Panasonic, whose cordless phones consistently get the best reviews, no longer makes anything but DECT cordless phones. Professional reviewers are generally only recommending DECT cordless phones.