A Tough Little Cordless Phone That Is Hard To Lose Around The House

A few years ago I was talking with a newspaper editor, and he told me that he had all his photographers use Nikonos 35 mm cameras. That intrigued me. As you may know, the Nikonos camera was a 35 mm camera made with a hardened shell around it so that it could be used to take underwater pictures. When I asked the newspaper editor why he had his people use those Nikonos cameras, he said, “That hard shell that protects the cameras underwater also keeps my people from tearing them up. When they use regular cameras, they tend to beat the heck out of them out on the beat, but with the Nikonos ones they usually bring the camera back in one piece.”

I guess that was part of the reasoning when I moved to a new home and decided to buy three cordless phones; one for the kitchen, one for the study, and one for the bedroom. I found the Uniden WXI377 Cordless Phone at a SAM’s store, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover three good things about it.

First of all, it is lightweight, and like a number of “outdoor” products, its hard rubber exterior is largely colored yellow. Some might find that a major fashion liability in an inside-the-home cordless phone, but I liked it because it was instantly identifiable anywhere in the house, and if you had a phone ringing in a pile of things on, say, a coffee table full of books, papers, empty plates and glasses, TV remotes, pizza debris on paper plates and other things, its bright color made it quick to find. Nerdy? Yes. Practical? Ultra-yes.

The second thing I liked about it was that it was a “submersible” telephone; you could drop it in a swimming pool and it was so well protected it would keep on working. Well, we have no pool and we usually don’t take the phone with us when take a bath or a shower, but like the newspaper editor’s reasoning about the Nikonos, I liked the idea that this cordless phone was, because of its submersion protection, probably a little stronger than most. We don’t throw phones around in our house, but you never know when one is going to fall onto the floor or…and this would be unlikely…fall into a full sink full of dishwater (no reflection on our dishwashing habits), or something else. But any either case, the WXI377 phone promised a better survival rate.

The third thing I liked was the name Uniden. The Uniden brand is one I knew was reliable, and I liked that. The price was competitive also.

The phones are easy to program and have nice memory and speed-dial features. I have been using these for two years now and have had no problems. They have an acceptable range and the sound quality and operational usability are excellent.

So if you would be happy with a high-visibility phone that is a bit tougher than most and has a good name-brand, this is it. And, I suppose, if you do have a pool, this would be a safe phone to use around it. Then too, if you are one of those people who just can’t get enough phone-time in, you can take it to the shower or tub with you and amuse your friends as you lather away with one hand and talk on the phone with the other.

I’ve been very pleased with the ones I have, and you may be pleased with this model as well. They are a little different, of course, but if that’s not a problem you will probably like this phone.

Transmission Band: 900 MHz

Expandability: 1 cordless handset included

Multi-Line Operation

Single Line Operation

Features: Caller ID • Call Waiting • Handset Locator • LCD Display

Other Features: Dialer Type Keypad

Speed Dial Capacity: 10

Battery Standby Time: Up to 336 Hours

Talk Time: Up to 7 Hours

Base Dimensions: Width 5.25 in., Depth 7 in. , Height 4 in.

Handset Dimensions: Width 2.5 in., Depth 1.25 in., Height 6.25 in.

Warranty: 1 Year

UPC: 050633152287

Product: ID 22178725

Price As Tested: $49.95 USA