Got all your Christmas shopping done yet? Tired of people asking you this question? I do almost all of my shopping online, of course, but the other day I was at my local Radio Shack, marveling that anyone would pay 75 bucks for an HDMI cable (I like wireless, but in my next lifetime I’m selling cables for a living if the margins are that good!) and I saw a shiny new Panasonic KX-TG1034 DECT 6.0 phone system. I needed to replace my aged Siemens Gigaset 8825, which has served me well, but I never really liked the cumbersome UI very much. And I was looking for a general-purpose cordless phone system to use until I cut over to VoFi full time, which isn’t yet in the plan and likely won’t be until I settle on a dual-mode cell phone strategy, and that won’t be for about a year. Right now I have my eye on a shiny new Voyager, and may take the plunge in January.
So, just for fun, I asked the salesperson to tell me a little about the TG1034. I always enjoy asking a few questions whenever I shop in retail stores; the sheer humor and irony of the whole experience always brightens my day, and high-school acting classes have helped through the years in keeping a straight face. Anyway, it went like this:
Me: Can you tell me a little about this phone? What’s DECT, and what’s the 6.0 mean?
Clerk: I’m not sure about the DECT part, but 6.0 means 6.0 gighertz. You’ve seen 5.8 GHz. phones, right? This is 6.0.
Me: Really? Does that mean it’s better than 5.8?
Clerk: Oh yeah, it’s much better than 5.8.
Flashing back to that priceless scene in This is Spinal Tap where Nigel Tufnel explains that his amplifier is louder because the knobs “go to 11”, I decided to find out for myself; the phone was on sale anyway. But, for the record, 6.0 refers to the version of DECT, not its operating frequency. DECT 6.0 phones in the US operate in the unlicensed PCS band at 1920-1930 MHz.
And this is the important part, because WLANs don’t operate in that band (OK, they can, but the FCC’s rules for use of the unlicensed PCS band and the limited amount of spectrum there have always deterred any WLAN vendors from building such a product). I noted on a number of occasions hearing clicks on the GigaSet when a 2.4 GHz. WLAN was operating. With DECT, such interference (and vice-versa) is impossible.
So a DECT phone may be a good choice for you if you use a 2.4 GHz. WLAN, as most people (everyone but me, I sometimes think; my primary WLAN is 802.11a) do. The Panasonic, by the way, has a nice user interface, many useful features, and good sound quality. It suffers, though, from limited range, which is surprising given the relatively low carrier frequency. I keep a clunky old 900 MHz. cordless phone around in case I ever need a cordless phone to work over a relatively long distance. Yes, it may be clunky and old, but both voice quality and range are terrific.
Wireless, regardless, in any form always makes a great gift. So go get that shopping done already, and all the best for the holidays.
