GE 26958GE1 Corded Speakerphone Base and 900 MHz Cordless Telephone with Call Waiting/Caller ID

Replaced 3 phones and a speaker (total of 4) with a GE 26955GE1 and a GE 26958GE1 (total of 4 phones). Both GEs consist of corded phone (which does require a wall-jack) and a cordless handset (which only requires power). After reviewing dozens of other models of 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz phones, I opted for these.

Wanted corded units to ensure phones remained in the kitchen and computer room, and cordless handsets to roam the house. The cordless phones don't interfere with each other and are immune to the microwave in the kitchen (many 2.4 GHz models are reportedly effected by microwaves and fight with wireless LAN networks).

Having Caller-ID in both the corded base and the handset is essential -- we don't answer "Unknown caller"s. The cordless is ideal next to your bed, the handset sits upright in its charger and the Caller-ID display is backlit -- it's easy to see at night. The Caller-ID on the base is hard to see from an angle -- you've got to be over top of it, not have it...Read more

The 26958 met all the criteria I was looking for in a phone. It's well designed and sturdily built. Programming is simple and straightforward, even without refering to the manual. This feature was especially important to me, since I purchased the phone for someone who is technologically challenged.

It has all the features you would want in a phone: cordless phone, digital answering machine, caller ID, and speakerphone. The combination of a corded base unit and separate cordless gives you an additional extension. More importantly, if there is a power failure or the battery dies, you still have a phone.

The handset is larger and heavier than many of the cordless units available, but it doesn't seem to be a problem. The handset display is easier to read than many cordless phones, and it lights up when the phone is in use.

This phone works great...to a point. However, less than 8 weeks after we started using the phone, the Caller ID went out. The only way to get it to work was to unplug the phone and plug it back in, and not only did that mess up the time signature, it only works for a couple of hours before the phone displays "no data" again. GE Customer Support was completely unhelpful, as this phone is manufactured by Thomson, and they would do nothing on our behalf. Thomson will not exchange the phone without us sending it back in to them and waiting six weeks for a returned phone. Thomson has no customer support for this phone and its phone line is merely an automated system. This is inexcusable - I need a phone that works properly! It is great if you get a working one, admittedly...but if you don't, expect a long wait. (And Office Depot, who sells the phone, offers their own product replacement, but it has to be out of manufacturer warranty. So we're still hosed.)