Many, many years ago, before everyone and their cats had cell phones, people bought cordless phones. The idea was that you could either answer the phone or make a phone call, and then walk around the house or even step outside, and continue the call. We bought this phone mainly for its indoor portability, but also because my dad likes to putter around in the yard. Now, even though my dad and I both have cell phones, this phone quietly rests in its cradle, charging and waiting to be used. I recently went through some frustrations with my cell phone, and was happy to have this phone still available to me.

What does the "900" in the name signify? I do not recall what frequency was being used before they switched to the 900 Megahertz technology, but the selling point for the higher frequency was that it provided a greater range of usage. Again, you could actually walk outside with the phone without losing a call or losing the ability to make a call.

This phone is made of heavy-duty black plastic, and has been dropped quite a few times without any damage. Wait, I do have to take that back, the softer plastic coating to the antenna did lose the very end of the tip many years ago. I cannot recall the circumstances of that. I was concerned, at the time, that the antenna would keep going away little bit by little bit, but it was just that first piece, the tip, that came off. Otherwise, the phone looks new.

By the way, when we bought this phone it was one of the first times that I saw the word "digital" used in conjunction with electronics, other than digital clocks and digital watches. That was another selling point to the phone that it keeps changing channels, which cuts down on the possibility of someone eavesdropping on your calls.  The clarity is very good, and the range is what is claimed.

This cordless phone came with an AC power adapter, a heavy-duty base unit or cradle, the handset, two telephone line codes, screws, a wall bracket for the base unit if you want to mount it on the wall, a rechargeable battery pack, a belt clip, and two directories or little phone books to use. Not many things, these days, come with this many accessories included. The instruction booklet was, and still is, very thorough, and is also and both English and Spanish.

When you look at the face of the handset, you will see, of course, the typical number pad that phones have. You will also see a Talk button that acts as a power on/off button for the handset. Next to that, is a little green light that lights up when the phone is active. That helps you to know whether you have turned it off or not. There is also a Channel button (to switch between channels in case your reception is not great), a Mute button, and a Redial/Pause button. Additionally, there is a Flash button. This is used if you have call waiting on your telephone line. There are also buttons used for programming up to ten numbers for speed-dialing or memory. On the base unit, there is also a Page button that can be used when you want the attention of someone who is using the cordless phone. If you push that button, the person using the phone will hear a signal. If you just press it once, they will hear one beep. If you hold it down, they will hear a series of beeps.

By the way, if the phone begins to lose its charge during a call, you will begin to hear a beep every three seconds. After one minute of this, your call will be disconnected. The nickel-cadmium battery holds a charge well, though, and this feature has never kicked in for us.

As I said above, we have had this phone for many, many years. It has held up well and still works like it did when we first bought it well over ten years ago. On the outside of the instruction manual, the copyright date is 1996, and I know that we bought this phone very soon after the technology began being advertised.

Copyright by Christian McCallister 2012.

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