Even in the days of cell phones, many people find it convenient and downright necessary to have a landline. Instead of burning up those cell phone minutes, pick up your home phone and dial away. Almost every company these days has unlimited long distance calling associated with their land line plans. This is of course good for the consumer.
Many companies are building cordless phones with a built in digital answering machine. These cordless phone systems have two hand sets and two bases for charging. At one of the bases, there is a digital answering machine built into the unit. They are generally simple and easy to use. If you spend a lot of time on the phone each day working from home, these little units are indispensable. When one handset goes dead, throw it on the charger and grab another.
Let's take a look at some of the units on the market today. Hopefully this will help you pick the model that is right for our specific application and fits into your price range. Since there are plenty of them out there, it is best to arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible about the specific brands.
AT&T EL52209: This is your basic entry level model. Listing at around $50.00 this unit boasts voice clarity using the latest DECT technology. It offers the features that most people want such as Caller ID, and Voicemail Indicator. The drawback to this unit is that it lacks a headset jack and can only accommodate three handsets. So if you want to expand and use multiple headsets, with this unit you will only be able to add one.
The Panasonic KX-TG1032S is the next phone up on the block and gets the best ratings from both experts and people that own the phone. Starting at around $55.00 this phone features the very latest in DECT Technology which means that you will not get any interference from your WI-FI network or any other home electronic gadget. It does have a headset jack, and this unit can accommodate up to six headsets that cost about $35.00 each. This phone also has higher end models that feature talking caller ID and those phones rate high also.
The Radio Shack 43-140 cordless phone is rated as the best cordless phone for people with hearing or vision difficulties. Most users say they can hear everything loud and clear on this phone. It also has flashing lights when it is ringing, big buttons that light up, and talking caller id. It includes a corded phone on the base and one cordless handset. The only drawback to this phone is that you can not add more handsets to the system. Another drawback is that it does not employ DECT Technology. It uses the old 5.8 GHz
System, but we found very few user complaints.
This should give you a good starting point for purchasing a cordless phone with a digital answering machine. There are many variations on every phone, and with a little research you can find the one that best suits your needs.
