December 9, 2008
Choosing a DECT phone
This week I’ve been looking at buying two Dect phones - one for the home office, and one for domestic calls.
The reason for a Dect phone is simple - I need a couple of good cordless phones around the house because at present I’m lefting running through the house from making coffee to get to the phone in the office - only to find it’s a sales call.
Additionally, sometimes when the phone rings in the lounge on the domestic line it can be a rush to get it from upstairs, and not audible from the garden.
So I’m looking for two sets:
1. Business Dect phone twin set - one for the office, and one for the kitchen by the back door
2. Domestic line Dect triple pack - one for the lounge, upstairs, and again near the back door
I’ve been looking at a few options, but here are my choices:
1. Business Dect Phone
My choice: Panasonic KX TG7342
The Panasonic KX TG7342 may be a bit of a mouthful to say, but it has all the features I need, including answering machine and caller ID, and the intercom function looks good.
The list of features is pretty neat, actually, and while there are more options than I’d necessarily use, it definitely offers more over my existing traditional corded phone.
And the picture just makes it look so nice as well. 
Perhaps it’s strange, but I do also want a phone that will go with the office and home decor, and not stand out too much.
Runner Up: Siemens Gigaset C460 IP Dual Landline Twinset
I very nearly went for the Siemens Gigaset C460 IP Dual Landline Twinset, because of the extra VoIP capability.
However, while the Siemens Gigaset is a powerful and popular top of the range brand, and the Gigaset C460 comes recommended, I had to ask myself whether I could really see myself using VoIP services within the next few years - and I had to resoundingly answer “no”.
Much as though VoIP remains the herald of the future, I get little demand for VoIP calls from clients - and those couple who have asked for it suffer terribly from dropped lines. And that’s not good for business.
Additionally, if I did move into a VoIP service, I have no idea which service that would be, and whether it would be a SIP or alternative service used - so my VoIP phone could actually prove pretty useless. Better to get a compliant phone for a known network, than get a phone in case it might work.
So in the end I had to pass over the Gigaset C460 because it offered too much too soon, but would definitely have been on my list if I were using VoIP regularly.
2. Domestic Dect Phone
My choice: BT Diverse 6410 Triple
The Domestic phone had to have three handsets - fine, no problem with choice there - and most Dect phones come stacked with a range of features anyway.
The reason I choose the BT Diverse 6410 is that it came with the right balance of features, and the price wasn’t bad either. And again while I may not end up using all of the features, there were a few I could see myself using in the future, even if not directly now.
It’s also a nice sleek handset that should blend in nicely enough into the background without forcing itself as a focal point, yet shouldn’t be hard to spot when it rings.
Overall, there were plenty of options, but a combination of features and design made this a winner for me.
Runner Up: Siemens Gigaset C475IP
Again, the Siemens Gigaset series came up as a strong contender, especially the Siemens Gigaset C475IP.
Again, though, while VoIP may be a potential option for the future, it just seemed a little too much too soon to get a VoIP enabled phone.
Despite this, the Siemens Gigaset C475IP looks sleek and stylish, is powerful, and comes recommended from Which? as a best buy phone.
That made it definitely worth considering, but in the end I had to pass over it for a simpler model.
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