AT & T Cordless Phone: Everyone Will Know You're Dialing

Once you've had a cordless phone, you don't want to be without one again. The first cordless model I bought in 1996, a Cidco that was caller ID compatible, finally drained it's batteries. With the new popularity of 900 MHz phones, I could no longer find a replacement battery.

I went for a few months with no cordless phone, which I especially missed when I was working in the kitchen, the basement, or taking a bath. The replacement I chose, AT & T 9340 was based partly on price and partly on features I needed: Caller ID, wall mountable hardware, and improved sound. This model has additional features I don't really care about, like Call Waiting caller ID, a 99 number storage memory, and 5- to 6-hour charging time.

Easy to Program, Charges Fairly Rapidly and Holds Well

Initial setup on this phone (time, date, ringer preferences, auto-answer on pickup selections, English or Spanish) was fairly simple with the owner's manual at my side. But if I want to change any of my preferences, I'll probably need to dig out the manual again.

As stated in the instructions, my handset was charged within hours and ready to use. But there were a couple of unpleasant surprises, too. The touch-tone keypad sounds are screechingly loud and can be heard throughout the house. There is volume control on the handset that's fairly easy to set, but that's for the caller's voice and does not seem to help the tone volume emitting from the handset.

With Christmas just days away, I didn't always want my husband or daughter to know that I was making a call and ordering a gift, so I started taking the handset into our bedroom walk-in closet. My husband hasn't caught me doing so yet, but if he did, he might wonder exactly who I was dialing in such secrecy! "Only that sexy-sounding order guy at QVC, Dear!"

This is Hands-Free Communication?

Anyone who is buying this phone because it allows hands-free communication might be rightly disappointed. There is a tiny jack hole on the handset, to which you can attach a microphone. In the owner's manual, this setup looks very cumbersome, and I can't quite picture how you hear the caller's voice, unless plugging in the microphone activates a speakerphone. I don't care about this feature, but if I did, this wouldn't be the phone I would buy.

Desk or Wall Mounting Possible

Since I put this phone in my bathroom, it was easy to mount on the wall. But only because I have an electrical outlet less than two feet away. If you unplug the AC outlet for any reason while you're talking on the handset, you will lose communication. My dream cordless phone will mount into the wall jack and not require an additional AC plug-in. While I really wanted this phone for my bathroom, I may have to move it to the bedroom where it can stay plugged in all the time.

Excellent Sound Quality

Immediately, I noticed the difference in the sound quality on the AT & T 9340 from my old Cidco model. The 900 Mhz technology has, for the most part, eliminated the old crackle and static I occasionally picked up with my old cordless phone.

I'm eager to test the range of this phone from the base when we're spending time outdoors again. In the summer, I would love to be able to take the handset to our pool, which is about 100 yards from our house. That was a pipe dream with the Cidco phone. I have heard that you can take some of these newer models much further from the phone base and still have good reception, and that would be very convenient.

For the price of under $50, this is a very good cordless telephone. It's certainly the best one I've ever had to date. Now if I could only tone down those button noises!