Cordless phones with answering machine review 2009

Results table

Full results for all models are shown in the table below.

Using the table

Scores The overall score is made up of:

Ease of use: 30%
Range: 20%
Sound quality: 20%
Battery life: 20%
Answering machine: 10%

Price Recommended retail, as of May 2009.

Table notes

* SD = speed dial.
(A) Discontinued, but may still be available in some stores.
HS = Handset
BS = Phone base unit

How we test

Ease of use Our testers consider factors such as quality of the instruction manual, feel and comfort of the handset, whether the screen is easy to read and any other special features.

Sound quality A panel of users makes calls in a moderately noisy environment and assesses speech clarity, speech loudness, line noise and background noise reduction on each model.

Battery life After fully charging each phone’s battery, our testers set the phones to talk and standby, and time how long each setting lasts. They also time how long the phones take to recharge.

Range For each phone, our tester uses a wall of uniform concrete construction obstructing the line of site to the base station. The base station is placed within a warehouse building with solid concrete foundations and walls, while the handset is located outside on the opposite side of the wall. Maximum range is determined either by when the radio link is cut or a subjective assessment of when the degradation of voice quality makes conversation unacceptable. The actual ranges attained vary from less than five metres to 45m. A significantly larger range could be expected to be achieved under normal domestic building situations.

Answering machine Our testers look at the ease of use when creating a message and managing calls, as well as sound clarity and quality for both the message recording and the message left by the caller.