Cordless Telephones: Still Extending Your Reach - By: Paul Wise

Before the cell phone but much later than smoke signals or Watson, there was the cordless telephone, a landline with a cord-free handset. Cordless phone signals are carried out over radio waves between the base station and a handset. Communications between the two are often rather limited, with total signal loss not unheard of, even if only between different floors of a house (or one end of an apartment and the other!). The base unit itself is connected like a standard landline, to the closest phone jack in the wall. Mains electricity -- the kind received through an outlet -- powers the base unit, while the handset operates on batteries. It is this base unit which continues to distinguish cordless telephones from cell phones, despite the increased technological sophistication of today's cordless phones, such as cellular handover which allows for cell phone-like features such as data transfer and international roaming.

But in the early days when cordless phones first appeared on the scene (it had been first proposed, actually, during the sixties, or two decades earlier), the devices were unreliable and very expensive. Not only was the operational range extremely limited and sound quality abysmal, but there was virtually no security or privacy because signals could be easily intercepted by other cordless phones in the vicinity due to the lack of channels available! It took just about a decade and a half for cordless telephones to at last gain the chance of being a common household item, thanks to the availability of greater frequency ranges, up to 900 megahertz, along with the introduction of DSS technology at year later, in 1995. These two technical innovations took care of eavesdropping fears and cordless phones took off as popular products. Though cell phones are everywhere and clearly going to be with us well into the future, many people still retain landlines in their homes for many reasons, and cordless telephones remain a viable product, with new models introduced fairly often.

When choosing cordless telephones, the number one thing that should be kept in mind is security: these phones are essentially radio transmitters and therefore susceptible to eavesdropping, though nowadays requiring a fairly high level of technical sophistication to do so successfully. In this respect, make sure to select DSS technology, at the 2.4 gigahertz frequency at a minimum (less is not as secure while more shortens battery life).

This brings us to the only other major issue: battery life. Avoid nickel-cadium if possible; they are subjected to a memory effect, which means that such batteries need to be thoroughly drained of power before a recharge. Other than these two matters, the rest of a cordless phone's features are entirely up to personal preference.

About the Author

Article written by Paul Wise after extensive research on Cordless Telephones. If you need a 2.4 GHz, 5.8 GHz, or DECT Cordless Phone, visit e-WorldDirect.com.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Paul-Wise/44507

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