New Ratings of cordless phones: Better than ever, generally speaking

They may not grab headlines much anymore, but cordless home phones continue to improve, as illustrated by the latest batch of models posted to our Ratings, available to subscribers.

Much of the credit is due to a technology called DECT, short for Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications. Phones with DECT technology—which comprise 23 of the 34 models in our updated Ratings—don't have the interference problems that often plagued their analog and digital predecessors, since they use the 1.9-GHz frequency band the FCC reserved for them (and other voice-only devices). They also have better talk times (sometimes exceeding 20 hours) than phones with those older technologies, and work over greater distances from their bases.

[UPDATE Sept. 2, 2009: As a reader noted, the Panasonic KX-TG6413T cordless phone does not have talking caller ID since it lacks an unattended auto-answering function. —Ed.]

Some models also add other conveniences to make calling easier. For example, the Panasonic KX-TG6413T, a phone-answerer that costs $80, can save you the hassle of leaving your comfy couch just to see lets you know who's calling without looking at the phone's caller-ID. It verbally announces callers via talking caller ID, and also allows you to assign frequent or important callers their own, distinct ring tones. You can even block telemarketers and other nuisance callers by storing their numbers on the phone's call-block directory.

And another phone-answerer, the The Uniden DECT 2060-2, $60, is a very good phone-answerer to have if eavesdropping is a concern. If you don't want people on other extensions to listen in on your conversation, push a button and they'll be locked out. In this mode, the word "Unavailable" will appear on the displays of the extension phones.

If you need a phone with an answerer, and many people still do, you'll be pleased to know that some such models in our Ratings cost little or no more than comparable phone-only models (as little as $30) and take up only about the same space. The least expensive recommended models, however, feature only a single handset; additional extensions typically drive up the price to $70 or more.

One sour note: This batch of phone-answerers, including even some recommended models, are a little more difficult to get up and running than in the past. Set-up controls are buried in multi-layered menus on the handset, requiring more button presses to program such basic settings as date, time, and the number of rings before the answerer picks up.

The Ratings also include standalone phones, including some recommended models that cost as little as $35 or $40. —Mike Gikas