(Credit:
Panasonic)
Panasonic has a few new DECT 6.0 cordless phones for 2009, including the KX-TG7400 series, which retails for less than $100 for a two-handset package. The main difference between this model and the popular KX-TG6400 series is a larger LCD: the 7400 series has a 2.1-inch LCD while the KX-TG6400 has a 1.8-inch LCD. Also, this model adds "Choice Mail" Selectable Voice Message (a form of visual voice mail) to an already strong feature set.
Read our full review to find out why it's currently our top-rated cordless phone.
On Sale Now: $69.40 - $102.99
View the latest prices for Panasonic KX TG7432B
On Sale Now: $60.66 - $94.99
View the latest prices for Panasonic KX TG6432M cordless phone system
The LS6625 series comes in versions that include two or three handsets.
(Credit: VTech)New for 2009, VTech's LS6225/LS6215 series is one of the company's featured DECT 6.0 cordless phone lines. VTech has a reputation for making sleek and stylish cordless phones and the LS6225 series is an eye-catcher, with a shiny black finish, touch buttons on the base unit/digital answering machine, and a slight curve to the handsets that follows the contour of your face. You can get this model in packages of two and three handsets (the system is expandable to 12 handsets), as well as a unit that leaves off the answering machine.
On Sale Now: $69.96 - $102.99
View the latest prices for VTech LS6225-3
The KX-TG6432 is just one of many models in the 6400 series.
(Credit: Panasonic)In this day and age when more people are ditching landlines and just using cell phones, it may seem a little shocking that CNET is reviewing cordless phones. But that's just what we're doing.
The fact is a lot of people still buy cordless phones, and with the industry moving toward Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) 6.0 as a standard, we've decided to initiate coverage again, focusing exclusively on DECT 6.0 models.
First up: Panasonic's KX-TG6400 series. It sits at the heart of Panasonic's DECT 6.0 cordless phone lineup, with two-handset bundles priced around $100, or slightly less. We've seen slicker-looking DECT 6.0 cordless phones from other manufacturers, such as V-Tech, but Panasonic's KX-TG6400 series is a solid performer with an equally strong feature set.
On Sale Now: $60.66 - $94.99
View the latest prices for Panasonic KX TG6432M cordless phone system
On Sale Now: $49.00 - $74.99
View the latest prices for Panasonic KX TG6412M - cordless phone w/ call waiting caller ID
The GE 28118FE1 (left) and 28106FE1 Ultra-Slim cordless phones
(Credit: Thomson)There are so many products announced at the January Consumer Electronics Show, a few of them always manage to slip off your radar. For me, one such product was the new line of GE-branded cordless phones from Thomson. I know what you're thinking--"Thomson" and "GE" are yawner brands that have no place among your carefully groomed hipster-approved gadget lineup. Well, think again: I was able to spend some quality time with the new GE phones last night, and each of them offered at least one compelling leg up on competing products. Each model is a DECT 6.0 product (Digital Enhanced Cordless Technology), meaning it operates on the 1900Mhz wireless band that's free of the interference issues that can occur on the more-crowded 2.4Ghz band (which competes with everything from microwave ovens to Wi-Fi to wireless speakers). A quick roundup of the key models follows:
... Read MoreOn Sale Now: $34.99 - $47.99
View the latest prices for GE 28118FE1 - cordless phone w/ call waiting caller ID & answering system
(Credit:
VTech Communications)
Home telephones are like TV sets of the '70s and '80s--except for the cordless breakthrough, technology has seen scant change compared with other consumer products. VTech wants to change that with its new "infoPhone" (not to be confused with the iPhone, thank you very much).
The landline handset is designed to handle many functions that most people reserve for the computer. As Gadgetell says, "The new ip8300 infoPhone uses the Internet to access information directly on the cordless handset's color LCD screen, including news headlines, weather reports, horoscopes, local directory searches and more"--all according to personalized feeds carried wirelessly through new DECT 6.0 technology (which, as every schoolboy knows, stands for Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications).
If it makes sense for any phone manufacturer to go in this direction, it would be VTech. The company has long tried to make technology friendly to the everyday consumer, starting with its extensive line of toys. But trying to turn the home phone into a household's main Internet conduit is a risky proposition: Other industries have made similar attempts with TV sets and game consoles, only to lose out to the computer. And if any phone is going to horn in on this turf, a mobile handset would seem to make more sense.
Then again, at least some companies seem to think that viable markets exist for such products as a computerless e-mail printer. And remember, some people out there are still using some variation of WebTV. Enough said.
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