Cordless phone advice

[DeeBye]

I've had a 900MHz Uniden cordless phone for a few years now, and the battery has just about bit the bucket. It won't hold a charge for more than a day, and when it was new it could hold a charge for the better part of a month. A new battery will cost me about $15, so I figure I might as well just pitch in a few more bucks and get a new phone.

I'm looking for a pretty basic 2.4GHz cordless phone. I don't want Caller ID or multiple handsets or a built-in answering machine. I just want something simple with good sound and reception and good battery life (a NiMH as opposed to a Ni-Cad battery would be a bonus). I also do not want to spend more than about $50.

Here are the manufacturers I'm looking at.

Uniden
I really like my Uniden phone. I really don't have a bad thing to say about it. The handset was comfortable and it sounded great. I've had my phone for about 3 years and I've dropped it about a million times, and it outside of the dwindling battery life it still works as great as the day I bought it. It might be time for a change though.

VTech
I've heard both good and bad things about these phones. Every demo model I've seen in stores looks pretty good, but it's kinda hard to tell without actually listening to it. Some of the models have too much bling-bling, but the basic ones are comfortable, if a bit small.

Panasonic
Great phones, but it might be out of my price range. Almost every Panasonic cordless phone I've seen for sale has had way too many extra features to put it within my budget. I really like the weight and feel of the handsets, and every one I've seen uses a NiMH battery.

Motorola
Motorola seems to be a new entrant into the home consumer cordless phone market, but I really like what I've been hearing about them.

Am I missing anything? Right now I'm leaning towards another Uniden or a Motorola assuming I can't find a Panasonic within my price range.

[Munkay]

I'm looking for a pretty basic 2.4GHz cordless phone.

*A quick disclaimer* The only thing I know about frequencies was taught to me in Highschool AP Physics, a handful of years ago. Please correct me if I am entirely wrong *End disclaimer*

Do you have wireless internet at your house? We use a 2.4 GHz wireless hub connection from NetGear, and a number of 2.4 GHz phones. For a while the phones would disconnect the internet whenever a cordless phone was used. It still happens rarely, but now the internet has very random instability issues (the house is far enough away from another house, so it must be a local source of interference) since we purchased a different 2.4 GHz cordless phone.

If they do direclty interfere with eachother, its something worth thinking about. If they don't and my story is ludacrous, please some one tell me!

Cheers,

Munk

[DeeBye]

Do you have wireless internet at your house?  We use a 2.4 GHz wireless hub connection from NetGear, and a number of 2.4 GHz phones.  For a while the phones would disconnect the internet whenever a cordless phone was used.  It still happens rarely, but now the internet has very random instability issues (the house is far enough away from another house, so it must be a local source of interference) since we purchased a different 2.4 GHz cordless phone.
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No, I don't have wireless internet at home. I don't have a need for it. I've heard about 2.4GHz phones messing up wireless internet connections, but everything I've read has been purely anecdotal. Is it possible that I could fudge up my neighbours' wireless connections by using a 2.4GHz phone?

[gekko]

Panasonic
Great phones, but it might be out of my price range. Almost every Panasonic cordless phone I've seen for sale has had way too many extra features to put it within my budget. I really like the weight and feel of the handsets, and every one I've seen uses a NiMH battery.

I sell cordless phones at the Source (formerly Radioshack). We sell more panasonice phones than all other brands combined, and see fewer panasonic phones come back with problems than any other brand. They're the best, period, and the new models are frankly not that much more expensive than the cheap crap you'll find otherwise.

Basic 2.4 panasonic, no call id will run you $60 canadian. If you plan on having the phone for a while, let the guy at the source talk you into the 3 year warrantly. It's about an extra $15, it's an over the counter replacement, and it covers 1 replacement battery. The NiMH batteries in these phones will run you anywhere from $25-$35, depending on if you get a panaosonic or some no-name replacement.

Aside from that... Uniden are a great choice for basic phones. They usually lack extra features but are durable and cheap. I'm personally a big fan of getting a NiMH battery in my phone, but if you don't care about that, Uniden would be a good choice. Vtech make excellent phones... but their entry level cheap phones are pure garbage. Motorola... I like some of their stuff, but their cordless phones generally seem to be a cheap version of panasonic. Much clunkier, a little cheaper, but generally much more of a hassle.

gekko

[DeeBye]

gekko said some good stuff
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Thanks! Judging from you said I guess I'm not far off in my assessment of cordless phones. I'll have to check out Costco and a few other places for Panasonics. As much as I like browsing Radio Shack (oops, I mean "The Source"), I don't think I'll buy from there. Too expensive :)

[gekko]

Thanks!  Judging from you said I guess I'm not far off in my assessment of cordless phones.  I'll have to check out Costco and a few other places for Panasonics.  As much as I like browsing Radio Shack (oops, I mean "The Source"), I don't think I'll buy from there.  Too expensive  :)
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Can't argue with you there. Some of the prices at the source are reasonable, but some are just gross. What's really awful is when I can buy things like blank CD's and DVD's from FutureShop and get them cheaper, even with my employee discount.

gekko

[Ninjadruid]

I have a White-Westinghouse 2.4 ghz phone. I like it and it was 19.99 at Zellers, I don't think that you can really go wrong for less than 20$.

My friend has wireless internet, his cordless phone hoses it; my phone doesn't touch my wireless connection, however - I think it's luck of the draw based on channels and frequencies and sheilding. Oh, the microwave will screw it over though :)

[Griselda]

According to this website,

900 MHz - Not great clarity, plus you might overhear your neighbor's phone conversations if they have a 900 mhz phone. Also easier to pick up on phone scanners.

2.4 GHz- Better clarity, but interferes with wLAN and you can't talk and use the microwave at the same time

5.8 GHz - No wLAN interference, expensive

I got an entry-level 5.8 uniden phone about a year ago when my 2.4 GHz panasonic died. I think I went through a couple of the 2.4 GHz panasonics in a couple of years. They were fine, but when they started dying, both started doing odd things. It wasn't as simple as working or not working- they would have strange problems to the point where I could sometimes use the phone, but could never count on it. I remember the slow death of the last one as being particularly bizarre, but now of course I can't remember any of the specifics.

I had a bit of sticker shock at the 5.8 GHz phone prices, but since we have a wireless network here 2.4 really wasn't an option for us. I have been really happy with the uniden phone in the past year, though.