The Cordless Phone Saga!

Buying a cordless phone has become an experience. So many to experience, so little time.... About three or four weeks ago, my wife and I decided that we would like a new cordless phone. The 900 mhz unit we had been using for quite a while was noisy to listen to, especially when talking with my mother-in-law, who live out in the country. So we decided to get the latest technology (5.8 Ghz), and we found that there were a lot of units out there with multiple handsets, so we decided to get a two handset system. This way, we won't have to carry the home phone into our home office. We could have a unit there. We went to Target (one of our favorite places to buy things), and looked at their selection. There were Panasonics, Motorolas, Unidens, and others. My wife has a color preference, and it goes to silvers and grays. I liked the Panasonics, as I have had good luck with Panasonic cordless phones in the past. My wife favored the smaller Motorolas. We got the Motorolas. There was no answering machine built in. Cost was $89.99.

Of course, when we got them home, we couldn't use them right away. They had to be charged for so many hours. This put their debut into the next day. First, the pluses. They came with belt clips. They are square and will stand on end. They had speaker phones in each handset. They had sufficient volume for me to hear. The speaker phone worked quite well - a boon to those who call businesses and are left dangling on hold for great periods of time, while listening to messages saying how important our call is to them (not). Anyway, outside of the fact that they were a little hard for me to hold on to, they worked well.

Now, the big minus: We have lots of static electricity buildup here, especially in the wintertime. The phone rings during prime time one night. I get up off the couch and run across the room to answer it. On one side of the phone is a small headphone jack socket, covered by a rubber cover. When I grab for the phone, a spark occurs between my hand and the headphone jack cover. I take the call. When the call is over, I look at the LCD readout on the phone, and it has disappeared! I turn the phone on again. No readout. I grab the book and it says to unplug the base unit and remove the battery from the phone for a time period to get it to basically reboot. I follow the instructions, and voila! The phone is showing the readout. Problem solved.

The next night, the same thing happens, and I figure that the same fix is necessary. Wrong. The readout now comes on, but is scrambled, scrolling, and nonsense. This won't fly. You need the readout to display when you are inputting phone numbers, when you are inputting auto-dial addresses and names, etc. It even tells you whether you are using handset one or two, and which hand set you are trying to contact.

I call the 800 number in the manual and they say to send in the entire unit and they will either repair it, or replace it, - or - I can give them my credit card number, and they will send me a new one, and I can then return the original unit to them for credit on my credit card. Neither is acceptable to me. I can't be without a phone, and I don't like the fact that the returned unit could get lost, and I wind up paying for two units.

Fortunately, there is a two-week period where you can return the product to Target with no questions asked. I opt for this.

My wife wants another Motorola system. I reason that another Motorola will be just as susceptible to static sparks as the last one and a brand change is imperative.

We got the Panasonics for $99.99. (See the post below this one) Of course, we had to charge them overnight. They did not come with belt clips, but these could be ordered for extra expense (plus shipping). I decided to wait on the belt clips. The Panasonics fit my hand better. I had them two days and discovered a Target ad showing the phone we just bought for $68.00. I took my receipt over to Target and got an adjustment. We got lousy reception to my in-law's home. The sound quality was poor. We needed a different phone system.

We went to Office Depot, and got a GE 6.0 phone system for $99.99. I didn't like how it felt in my hand, but it promised to have sharp and clear sound on the box. I kept the Panasonics hooked up as I already knew the drill. I needed a phone on the line, and until the batteries were charged, we now had two systems we had paid for.

I hooked up the GE 6.0s and they were worse than the Panasonics for sound quality. On speaker phone, everyone sounded garbled. I had to ask people (especially women) to repeat what they said (I can't hear some octaves).

I took the Panasonics back to Target and got a refund. We went to Circuit City found a small different 5.8 Ghz Motorola (than the first one), with an answering machine listed for $99.99. We went across the street to Best Buy. Best Buy had them listed for $89.99, but didn't have any in stock. We went back to Circuit City and they matched the price of Best Buy. We got the Motorolas home and (you guessed it) charged them overnight. I hooked them up. Terrible sound quality.

I took the GE 6.0s back to Office Depot for a full refund, leaving the Motorolas hooked up. My wife wanted to buy two different units and bring them home to save time.

We purchased a different GE system (5.8 Ghz), with an answering machine from Fred Meyer for $49.99. It felt hefty. It fit my hand. It had belt clips. I just knew it was the right one. It wasn't. The sound wasn't good. It wasn't anywhere near loud enough at the highest setting. You couldn't do conference calling, only transfer the call to the other handset.

Finally, in desperation, ready to throw up my hands, I noticed that Office Max was selling a similar Motorola to the first one we had. The one with the best sound quality. Only there were three phones in the set, and an answering machine. And the whole thing was $49.99. I figured that even if I eventually zapped one unit, I would still have two. I covered the headset rubber covers with black electrical tape. Maybe that will keep me from zapping them. I can only hope. I have taken back all the other phones. I will keep my fingers crossed. At least the price was the best!