Customers tell us that one of their favorite new additions is the ability to port your previous cell phone number from another service to Jitterbug J. Similar to the “no contract” policy at Jitterbug, this simple feature adds to the simplicity/flexibility of the service. Those that talk while driving will also appreciate that the Jitterbug J is Bluetooth compatible. You can now use a hands-free car kit or Bluetooth compatible headset like the vast majority of other cell phones on the market. Yes, the Jitterbug Phone is moving along with the times.

Some features (like text messaging?) seem out of place with the demographic intended for this phone, but overall it’s a market leader. Beyond the phone, Jitterbug service is truly amazing. The service reps are courteous, professional, responsive and they can actually communicate in English. Jitterbug clearly has the market edge for the Senior, Hearing Impaired Market or anyone that just desires an easy-to-use cell phone without a lengthy service contract.

Construction sites, warehouses, and multi-story buildings will soon have a 4-line cordless phone that actually does what it’s supposed to and it won’t break the bank. The new AT&T SB67118 is a new DECT 6.0 4-line expandable cordless that will allow you to reach up to 1/2 mile from the main base. This new AT&T model is a great value alternative to the few commercial-type long range phones on the market.

A bright spot in the economy these days seems to be the relative strength of small business. We continue to field a lot of requests for the best 2 line cordless phones. Most are searching out the best 2-line DECT 6.0 (1.9GHz) model. Because not one of the four available 2-line DECT 6.0 cordless phones works for everyone, we felt that it might be valuable to lay out the differences.

Philips SE6591B -

• Pros: Good sound quality, solid build quality/reliable, one of the best color displays we’ve seen
• Cons: Delay when keying in numbers; Call transfer requires an extra step; Music-on-hold can be annoying and cannot be adjusted

Panasonic KX-TG9391T / KX-TG9392T -

• Pros: Good sound quality, reliable, cool features (ex. lower volume of annoying call waiting tone)
• Cons: Volume can’t be turned up that loud (not great for louder environments), average display, keys quality is average

RCA 25250RE1 / 25210RE1 -

• Pros: Long Range, Long Range and Long Range (the longest range off the shelf model we’ve tested)
• Cons: Average to less-than Average voice quality, Average Build quality, Cannot use a standard headset with it (only the RCA headset is recommend but it doesn’t seem to available on the market)

Verizon V500AM-2 -

• Pros: Solid sound quality including good speakerphone, solid build quality
• Cons: Some key delay (though not as much as Philips)

Most of us won’t be seeing bailout money anytime soon, so it makes sense that we at least make an attempt to stretch the home budget. If you phone is on the fritz, a dead cordless phone battery is the most likely cause. Depending on how long you’ve had your cordless phone, locating a cordless phone battery may be a daunting task. In the last couple of years, some of the manufacturers have been kind enough to use AA or AAA rechargeables, which makes life a whole lot easier…and cheaper.

If the phone you use has an antenna that you pull out of the handset (you know the classics I’m talking about), your battery search may just be too daunting or expensive. If it’s relatively new (in the last 4-5 years), you may have an expandable model. In that case, you may find more value in replacing the cordless handset. When all else fails, the prices on cheap cordless phones (inexpensive DECT 6.0 models, not cheap junk) have dropped dramatically.

Though 2.4ghz and cordless 5.8 ghz phones have been around for a while, we’re baffled that these phones continue to be requested. With the competitive pricing of DECT 6.0 (1.9ghz) in this down economy and the widely number of available models, there really is no reason to consider a 2.4 ghz cordless phone or 5.8 model. DECT 6.0 solves voice quality deficit and ranges issues that either of the 2.4ghz or 5.8ghz frequency phones have had challenges with. Ultimately, our DECT 6.0 cordless phone customers have a much lower return rate, which leads us to believe that customer satisfaction is higher with DECT.

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PARIS, Nov 5 (Reuters) – French media technology group Thomson SA said on Wednesday that it would close its loss-making retail telephone business in North America in a bid to bolster profitability.

The business, which is part of Thomson Grass Valley unit, and sells mainly DECT telephones to retailers in North America, will be shut down.

“We have started a process under which this business in North America will be halted,” a company spokeswoman said.

The North American retail telephony business had around 135 million euros in revenue in 2008, down 18 percent from 2007 and is expected to show an operating loss of over 20 million euros in the current year, the statement said.

Part of the reason is due to the way the ear piece cups your ear. It’s also refreshing to have a Jitterbug customer service team that can clearly communicate with you and really knows their product. We have yet to wait on hold…and this is worth a lot to Jitterbug’s target market. It is a bit of a bummer that you still can’t transfer an old phone number to your Jitterbug phone/service, but based on demand – we’re hopeful that they’ll add this capability (you can transfer your Jitterbug number to another phone/service, just not vice-versa). To be clear, not everyone is looking for this simple of a phone (Most boomers would rather show off an iPhone). The Jitterbug does get a thumbs-up from our customers…complaints are extremely rare.