In the office and home as technology makes them more reliable and cheaper cordless phones are becoming more common. Since the 1960s the technology for cordless phones has been around, however domestic models were first introduced in the 1980s.

Cordless phones at first between the handset and base used an analogue signal so quality and range was not great. These phones did also tend to have an aerial that extended out of the top so were quite large. The first cordless phones had another downside as they were also very expensive as well.

Cordless modern day phones are now all Digitally Enhanced Cordless Technology which stands for DECT. Basically this means cordless phones have instead of the old analogue signal a digital one. This gives enhanced range in which the phones can be used and clarity to the calls.

DECT phones at first costing nearly as much as 200 a time were very expensive at first. Nowadays DECT cordless phones however can be bought for as little as 15 a time.

The size that has reduced dramatically is another change that has happened to cordless phones. An extending aerial with huge battery compartments are things handsets no longer require.

BT, Panasonic and Siemens are just some of the cordless manufacturers who produce phones in a variety of features and shapes. Bluetooth handsets with wireless headset capabilities are now available and some models even being weatherproof.

Many consumers as technology gets better and prices reduce purchase with extra cordless handsets included. In other rooms around the home these phones can then be located in the bedroom or living room. People can make calls and then communicate freely between phones.

In fact you will rarely find a corded phone in use in most people’s homes nowadays. A preferred choice for the majority of people is a cordless phone. It is always wise however to have a corded phone in case of a power cut as back up.

Want to find out more about Cordless Phones, then visit Rachel Snowdon’s site on how to choose the best. Of particular interest at the moment are a range of Polycom Conference Phones

SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) is a new technology which allows for the creation of virtual phone lines between your PBX and the public network.Is SIP therefore a cost effective alternative to ISDN? The following explores this question.

Telephone calls can then be made over your internet connection with the subsequent savings being made on the ISDN and analogue line rentals.

Outgoing calls will be re-routed via a box over your internet connection using the SIP trunks.Incoming calls will still go over the ISDN lines.If the internet connection goes down outgoing calls will go over the remaining ISDN lines.This allows for a risk free way to try the new technology.In essence there are no investment costs either as the savings are immediate.

Cheaper phone calls and cheaper analogue and lSDN costs are the tangible rewards as the surplus lines are no longer needed.This means no initial investment as any minor installation costs are immediately swallowed up by the savings.

For example in any organisation not everyone needs to make or receive calls simulataneously.Most companies will normally rent more ISDN channels then they actually need.And that means unused line rental costs.What if these unused lines could be replaced by SIP Trunks at a fraction of the cost?

In a nutshell then the benefits of trying it out are clear.Replacing surplus line rental costs can be done in an entirely risk free way.Costly analogue and ISDN lines which are not being used can be a distant thing of the past.

When choosing a company to go with its important to note what rates they will charge you for calls.As mentioned previously its entirely possible to have this “hidden” benefit as well as the ISDN savings

A company currently running an interesting promotion offering free SIP trunking for life is Tipicall.

Learn more about alternatives to ISDN Lines. Stop by Martin wacey’s site where you can find out all about sip trunking and what it can do for you.

Panasonic are a brand that have always produced very good products and the Panasonic cordless phones are no exception. One thing Panasonic is not very good at though is giving them a decent name. For example the Panasonic KX-TG6421ES cordless phone or the Panasonic KX-TG6481ET are just two of these terrible attempts.

However these Panasonic cordless phones are very good once you get past the numbers and letters. Two models start the range but one has an answering machine with a very similar one that does not. These are the and the Panasonic Cordless Phone KX-TG6411ET and thePanasonic Cordless Phone KX-TG6421ES with Answering Machine

Next in the Panasonic cordless phone range is a handset that is extremely robust and hard wearing. Not that the normal handsets are weak but this particular one has been made extra tough. In fact this particular Panasonic cordless phone is so tough it has been given an IP rating of IP54. The name of this phone is the Panasonic KX-TG6481ET Cordless Phone

Next in the Panasonic cordless range is a corded and cordless telephone that is very unique. The extra handset will walk around working as a slave to the main corded phone plugged into the telephone line. With the corded on the desk it means the cordless could be in another room. This phone is the Panasonic Cordless Phone KX-TG6461ET

At the very top of the range Panasonic finally have a model that has an answering machine and colour screen. This model also has extra features such as a large phone book. This Panasonic model is the KX-TG8421EB Panasonic Cordless Phone

Just to make things more complicated all of the above models come in multi packs that also have different product names. However simply look at which Panasonic cordless phone you want first and then work out how many phones you want after.

BT Ireland home and small business customers will have there accounts transferred to Vodafone. They will now be tied to Vodaphone under a major agreement unveiled between the two firms, and will not be able to terminate their existing contracts once the move takes place.

BT has decided to leave the Irish home retail telephone and broadband market. Its 84,000 home customers will soon be part of Vodafone’s fixed-line customer portfolio. Also its 3,000 BT small business customers will be transferred to Vodafone’s existing fixed-line service in the coming months.

The deal will boost Vodafone’s total fixed-line customer base to more than 170,000 customers and make it the second-biggest player in the market after Eircom. Vodafone will also have 15 percent of the country’s fixed-line broadband internet customer base.

The proposed deal which is still subject to approval from the Competition Authority, also includes a multi-million euro commitment from BT to upgrade a further 58 telephone exchanges around the country. In doing so it can ensure that more of the Irish population can access its high-speed internet services.

BT has already unbundled 22 exchanges. BT will sell the wholesale broadband capacity to Vodafone, which will in turn market it to fixed-line customers.

This part of the deal will make further impact on revenue at Eircom, challenging the already embattled telecoms company. Of BT’s 84,000 home users, about 80pc of them use broadband services that BT buys from Eircom at a wholesale basis. Once these new exchanges are upgraded by BT, the amount of wholesale fixed-line internet services that Vodafone will have to source from Eircom will drastically decline

The Gigaset phone is one of the best cordless phones on the market today with the Siemens Gigaset SL785 one of the best. Phones can look good in pictures but even high level phones can feel plastic to hold. Manufactured in actual metal the Siemens Gigaset SL785 has high quality materials for this reason.

One unusual features of the Siemens Gigaset SL785 is Bluetooth headset compatibility it has built in. Expensive mobile cellular phones normally only found at a very high level have this feature. Headset compatible phones use cabled headsets a Bluetooth headset has much more freedom.

As the top cordless phones in the range the Gigaset Siemens SL785 has quality high definition HDSP built in sound. The cordless SL785 is also an ECO phone for energy conscious users which helps reduce energy.

The Siemens SL785 Gigaset has a digital 45 minute answering machine if a call goes unanswered. Users can listen privately to messages not out loud done through the cordless handset.

Often DECT cordless phones manufactured by most brands have a base station combined with the phones charger. However the location of where you want the phone is not always the best spot for transmitting a cordless signal. For this reason Siemens produce the Gigaset SL785 with a separate base and charger.

Features such as a 500 name and number phone book and VIP ringer melody make this cordless phone very useful. Users do not have to use a headset to talk handsfree either as the Siemens Gigaset SL785 has a handsfree speaker.