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I've got a Panasonic and I really like it.  It has the phone and an integral digital answering machine.  It was high end at about $180 but I got it for $90 refurb.  It's the 2.4 gig frequency.  I hear that some cordless phone frequencies conflict with wifi but I don't know much about that.

The phone has a phone number directory as part of it.  So all my friend's numbers are right there for me.  I just scroll through the names and hit call.  I will always buy this feature.  It is too good to do without.   I also have speaker-phone capabilities which come in handy if you get put on hold and it looks like it is going to take a while.  If you are feeling flush I would consider one of those "satellite" phones which gives you two phones on the same line.

I don't think "GE" is top of the line.  Same with "Digital"  I had an AT&T for a long time and I liked it.

Good luck!

One of the most important things to consider is the battery type. You should get a cordless with a battery that doesn't have memory issues. Here is an explanation why:

NiCad batteries [they suck]
If you do have a phone with a NiCad battery, be sure to always let it drain completely before recharging. Only recharge your battery when the phone's low battery indicator light is on. Why? NiCad batteries have a problem called "battery memory syndrome." If a battery is repeatedly drained a small amount, then recharged a small amount, eventually, that smaller amount becomes the battery's new capacity. For example, if a phone was taken off the recharger, used for one hour then immediately recharged, the battery will start to "remember" only being used for one hour. Even if the original charge capacity of the battery was four hours, it eventually will only contain 60 minutes of charge.

Phones with these batteries blow as you have to remember not to hang the dam thing up, and if you have kids, or even if you don't, it's a pain in the ass. Our $140 Panasonic had this type of battery and because of memory issues with the battery it would go dead after 15 minutes of use. Very frustrating! We got rid of it (read threw in trash) after 6 months, that's how bad it was!

If you are buying a new cordless phone, you may want to consider phones with the newer NiMH batteries that have greater capacity and do not have "battery memory syndrome."
Nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries [are the best]
These batteries take about as many recharges as nickel cadmium, last longer, and do not develop "memory" problems.

Get a phone with one of these. We got a nice AT&T and it's about 1 1/2 old, we hang it up when we want (or don't) and we can still talk for hours on each day if need be.

Features are nice on a cordless, but do no good if your phone doesn't hold a charge and you can't use it.

I have Panasonic phones that I got at Best Buy.  I have a set upstairs with a main base station and a satellite phone, and then one downstairs with an answering machine base station and one satellite.  I should have just gotten one with 4 handsets, but I didn't plan to replace the phones downstairs at the time.  The nice thing is the intercom feature.  I can call the base or other handset with either one of the phones and talk to someone there.  Handy for when you want to talk to someone in another room without having to holler or find them.  They also have that phonebook feature mentioned before, and speakerphone capabilities.  I love speaker phones when my sister calls and talks for an hour or more. 

Mine is the KX-TG5422M

I have a Panasonic KX-TG2322, 2.4 GHz with a digital answering machine. I have not had any problems with it interfering with my wireless.

I have a 2.4GHz Panasonic (with NiMH battery) and it's fantastic.  The quality is as good as my $100 corded phone.  I recommend any mid or high-end Panasonic without pause.

benightedbastard wrote:

I've yet to meet a cordless phone I like. All the ones I've used have abysmal user interfaces. The nicest one I've used was a Bang & Olufsen one, but that died.

On my Panasonic it's a piece of cake to use.  I didn't even open the instruction book.

Just this weekend, I replaced our 2 cordless (AT&T) phones with a new setup. I checked the frequency on my Airport (2.4ghz, BTW) and purposely bought a cordless setup that doesn't use that frequency, just in case there is interference.

I ended up with Uniden 5.8GHz Digital Expandable Cordless System (TRU9465-2): Link

Anyway, its expandable (up to 10 handsets), comes with 2 handsets, phone book feature, etc... It also looks like Uniden makes the exact same setup with an answering machine built in.

So far, I'm extremely happy with it. Great reception throughout my house with both phones. I don't need the answering machine part, so I bought this one that doesn't have it. It does check my phone company's voicemail feature and lights up when I have messages there, which is a handy feature.

A good read for cordless phones is here: Consumer Reports

Good luck-

jeff-o wrote:

benightedbastard wrote:

I've yet to meet a cordless phone I like. All the ones I've used have abysmal user interfaces. The nicest one I've used was a Bang & Olufsen one, but that died.

On my Panasonic it's a piece of cake to use.  I didn't even open the instruction book.

Well, I can dial a number and talk to people, but higher functions like the address book and missed calls always seem to be functionally awkward. I'm sure there are good ones out there though. Somewhere.

Thx for all the answers.  I was pretty surprised that Analog phones are still made, even at 5.8 Ghz

People still use land lines? Wooooohhh...

I have Panasonic cordless phones at my house and really like them. I also have a Panasonic PBX phone system installed at my business. I will never buy anything but Panasonic telephones. They make other good electronics too.

user wrote:

Zander wrote:

People still use land lines? Wooooohhh...

Heh.

I still have one of these hanging in the kitchen, except it's avacado green.....

http://www.fiddleandbow.org/1956_wall_telephone.jpg

It still works but people complain that I sound like I'm calling from real far away.

I tell them it must be from the time warp.

Avacado green!

Cool!   

Does it match your stove and fridge?