Which Telephones?
Discover which Telephones are best and which Telephones are right for you.
What Telephones
Learn about what Telephones can do, the key features of Telephones and what to look for when buying Telephones.
Best Telephones
Find the best Telephones by popularity, price and functionality -- browse by the most popular brands and featured stores for Telephones.
Even though it might sometimes feel as if mobile phones have taken over the world, the popular landline telephone is far from finished. This is evidenced by the fact that there are so few people who to yet cancel their landline service. For many reasons, mobile phone companies are not yet trusted to be the sole providers of telephone services just yet. Some of these reasons are good ones, and they include the fact that mobile phone reception can quite poor in some areas. Other reasons include mobile phone batteries dying unexpectedly, calls getting dropped and the fact that in most cases wireless networks just don’t offer the same clarity as a landline does.
So what to look for when buying a landline phone? Do you choose a cordless or corded phone? Should you go for 900 MHz or is a super-expensive 5.8GHz cordless model better? Do you need a digital phone or is analog okay? By having the right phone, you can take all your important calls, manage multiple lines and guarantee your privacy.
Not only do you have the choice of corded or cordless phones, but with cordless phones you also have a further choice between digital or analog.
Corded Phones
The mainstay of office and small business use, the traditional corded phone still dominates the market in these categories. Corded phones are also popular in the home, as they are inexpensive, can offer access to multiple lines and also offer many other useful features, such as speed dialing and the popular speakerphone option.
Cordless Analog Phones
Slowly but surely disappearing from the market, analog phones nevertheless still have some good qualities. Analog models are almost always less expensive, and often enough they actually provide better voice quality compared to digital phones. Another benefit is that if you use a 5.8 GHz transmission band, you are unlikely to suffer interference from other wireless products. On the downside however, most analog phones use a 2.4 GHz band, and so they do suffer from interference. Analog transmission also lacks the security of digital transmission. It is possible for anyone to listen in on your calls using an RF scanner or something similar.
Cordless DECT Phones
DECT phones (Digitally Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication) or more commonly just digital phones deal with the problem of interference by using a 1.9 GHz band, which is only reserved for voice applications. Digital phones can also support multiple handsets, up to 12 from the same base and they also allow for conferencing of the handsets. DECT phones (Digitally Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication) or more commonly just digital phones deal with the problem of interference by using a 1.9 GHz band, which is only reserved for voice applications. Digital phones can also support multiple handsets, up to 12 from the same base and they also allow for conferencing of the handsets.
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Standard features of telephones will include volume controls, redial button and an answering machine. For other features, buyers should take into account what they can and cannot live without, bearing in mind that the more features a phone has the more expensive it will cost.
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LCD Display |
Two Line Support |
Speakerphone |
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An LCD display can be found on many handsets and also sometimes on the base of the telephone. They are able to display such information as the number and name of the person you are dialing, caller ID phone battery power and the minutes of each call.
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Useful for anyone who has a separate business and personal line at home, two line support allows you to receive calls to both numbers using the same phone. Some models will have two different ring tones, informing you of which line is being called. This feature also enables conference calling with two callers in a three way connection.
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A feature that allows for hands free conversing on your phone, and it even means that other people on your end can join in the call as well. Base speakerphones allow you to take calls without using the handset, while a handset speakerphone means you can chat hands free anywhere at home so long as you are near the handset.
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Multiple Handsets
Multiple handsets can be useful for conference calling with outside parties and they can also be employed as an internal intercom system.
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Caller ID
Lots of phones offer caller ID alerts. These can range from different ringtones for different callers to color flashing or even voice announcements. It’s a useful feature that can help you decide if you need to rush to answer the phone or not.
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The first decision you’ll need to make is whether to buy a phone with a cord or a cordless one. If yours is small home, or if you want a phone to sit on your desk in your office, then a cheaper corded phone may be right for you. However, if you want to be able to move around while you are talking then a cordless phone will allow you to do so.
For smaller homes, a single headset phone is probably sufficient. If yours is a larger home, you may want to give consideration to buying a multi handset phone which can support many handsets from just one base. Each of the extra handsets will come with its own charger to sit in so you don’t need to worry about batteries running down.
You’ll need to consider which features are necessary for you and which can be lived without. Useful features that you’ll probably want include an LCD display and an answer phone, but other things such as caller ID alerts, a base that can be mounted on the wall or a headset jack might not be necessary for you. Bear in mind that each of these features adds additional cost onto the price of the phone.
Tests show that most new cordless telephones offer very good voice quality, though corded phones are still considered to be the best. When considering cordless phones, bear in mind that while the average battery length for a handset is 8 hours, DECT phones often have a battery life that is twice as long.
- Is the phone for personal use or office use? If you just want a phone at home for taking personal calls then many of the latest features such as multiple headsets and conference calling functions won’t be necessary
- Are you someone who spends hours on the phone talking with friends and family? If so then a hands free speakerphone may be a more comfortable option for you
- Consider the size of your home or office, wherever the phone is intended for. If your home or office is only small, then you will probably only need one handset
- Test the handset – You can check to see if the handset fits the contours of your face, and if the ear piece fits your ear comfortably. Also look at the buttons, are they big enough and easy enough for you to manipulate?
Popular Telephone Brands
| ATL Telephone ATL - This brand specializes in making a range of quality, corded business phones for office use. Most models are in the mid price range, and typical features include caller ID and multiple ringtones. |
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| ATL Telephone BT - BT offer a wide range of different telephones for almost every purpose, from small corded home phones to multi handset digital cordless phones. Their models fall in the low to mid range price band. |
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| Cisco Telephone Cisco - Another manufacturer specializing in telephones for the business world, Cisco phones are high end and come with a prohibitive cost. Features include IP capability, conference stations, wireless handsets as standard. |
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| GIA Tronics Telephone GIA Tronics - The elite telephone manufacturer, GIA Tronics produces the highest quality phones suitable for use in the commercial and public domains. Very expensive, all of their phones come with locking cases and are highly durable and weather resistant. |
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| Interquartz Telephone Interquartz - Most of the Interquartz models are in the low cost price bracket, and they offer a nice range of corded and cordless phones for home or office use. |
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| Panasonic Telephone Panasonic - Panasonic have for a long time focused on producing mid to high price range models that offer very good quality and service. Standard Panasonice features include caller ID, alarm clock and battery alert. They also offer models with Bluetooth technology so that it can be linked to your mobile phone. |
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| Polycom Telephone Polycom - Polycom are a quality manufacturer of business phones, specializing in video phones and conference call centers. |
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| Siemens Telephone Siemens - Siemens focus primarily on low to mid cost models for home use, and offer an interesting selection of mostly cordless models. |
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5.8GHz, 2.4GHz, 900MHz - These relate to the frequency on which cordless telephones send out and receive transmissions to their base. Cordless phones that use a 2.4GHz frequency are generally newer models, and this frequency offers less interference than the others. Also, it is more secure as it is undetectable by most scanners.
Spread Spectrum Technology - A security feature for digital phones, it spreads out a call’s information across a number of different frequencies, making it more difficult for someone to intercept your conversations.