PANASONIC MAINTAINS GLOBAL #1 POSITION IN CORDLESS TELEPHONES

Data from Leading Research Firm Confirms Substantial Lead in Worldwide Sales of Consumer Telephones

Secaucus, NJ (November 23, 2009) – Panasonic System Networks Company of America today announced that it maintained its #1 global leadership position in the cordless telephone market for the full calendar year 2008. Market data from the prominent information technology research firm MZA Ltd. confirms Panasonic's #1 position in worldwide shipments of DECT* cordless phones and other digital cordless phones.

Panasonic's share of the global cordless telephone market in 2008 was 19%, according to the MZA report, "The Global Consumer Cordless Telephony Market." The nearest competitor held an 11% share of the global market.

"Panasonic continues to be consumers' favorite because we start with the consumers' needs in mind," said Bill Taylor, President, Panasonic System Networks Company of America. "From handset design to features such as Talking Caller ID, our focus is on what consumers need and how our phones can enhance their daily lives. Consumers have made Panasonic the #1 brand year after year and know they can count on Panasonic telephones to deliver exceptional reliability and affordability."

MZA reported that DECT phones showed strong growth in North America relative to other digital cordless phones. In DECT technology Panasonic's market position was even stronger, rising from 20% in 2007 to 23% in 2008, surpassing the next nearest competitor by 8 points of market share.

MZA concluded that a variety of factors continue to drive sales, including a large customer base that prefers to own a landline phone, attractively priced packages from telephone service providers and the availability of multi-handset bundles.

*DECT: Digitally Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications standard for minimal interference and extended range and battery life

First off, yeah, we're aware that the main point of being cordless is that you can take the phone with you around the house. That's one point in its "positive" column. Here are the negatives, in no particular order.

• Security. The president needs to make sure some bozo out on the lawn can't eavesdrop on his phone call with a baby monitor.
• Interference. "Hold on Putin, the kids are microwaving some popcorn."
• Sound quality. Being able to actually hear inflections in people's voices is kinda important when dealing with international crises.
• You have to charge it. Aides can probably do it for him, but it's a pain.
• It's easy to lose
• It requires power. If the White House ever completely loses power (including whatever generators they might have), he wouldn't be able to make any calls from his desk.
• Corded phones have more features. The most gadgety reason is that his current phone, which is probably by Cisco or Avaya or someone similar, has tons and tons of features. There's probably even an Optimus Prime voice changer on that thing. No way will a cordless phone be able to match that.

To be honest, I had to check my calendar when writing this post, since this whole topic of cordless vs. corded feels like I'm back in 1993. You kids and your beepers! And your V-Chips! And your closed captionings! [NYT]

Update: Someone who used to work for the DoD says that the phone might be an STU-III. Thanks tipster!

Update 2: Someone else says it's probably the STE, not the STU-III, since it's the current technology.

I imagine that being a cordless-phone designer is pretty similar to playing for the Atlanta Hawks, minus the big money, groupies, and VIP strip-club privileges. I mean, you're technically in the gadgets game, which is nirvana for a geek—certainly beats working a Store 24 cash register. But you've also got to realize that you're rarely going to get props from consumers, let alone the media. That's because, let's face it, cordless phones have pretty much topped out in terms of technological sophistication—just as the Hawks seem to perennially top out at, oh, a dozen or so games under .500.

The difference between the Hawks and the cordless-phone industry? The Hawks can be—and probably should be—avoided. But millions of Americans, including your humble narrator, still have landlines in this otherwise Unstrung Era. And having a landline means basically means having a cordless phone.

But which phone to choose if you're a low-ender loath to spend over $50? Specs aren't much of an issue here—those 5.8 GHz phones aren't demonstrably better than the 2.4 GHz models, and caller ID is ubiquitous even on the most ludicrously cheap Unidens. So it's best to go for the aesthetic frills. After the jump, a rundown of four gimmicky cordless phones I'm considering, and an appeal for your advice. PLUS: Best Chinese manufacturer names!

Motorola MA357 (pictured above)
Pros In a word, camouflage. I can imagine few better ways to demonstrate one's inherent machismo than with a hunting-ready cordless phone. On top of that, it offers a veritable Wild Kingdom of ringtones: bear, duck, elk, "couger" [sic], coyote, loon, and a few others. Includes belt clip.
Cons I wonder if camo is sort of impractical for a handset. Seems like it would easily get lost amid the piles of clothes and whatnot that litter my cramped apartment. Also, the base station's girth seems excessive.
Bottom Line The front-runner, though a little pricey at around $40. (Remember, I'm cheap as all get-out.)

Spectra KT2015 (a.k.a. the Hello Kitty Phone
Pros Will make my wife happy. The most innovative design in this price range—I dig the curves. 40-number speed dial, which is a lot for $40. Handset will stand out amid piles of junk. Affordable relative to other notable Hello Kitty products.
Cons Pink. Potentially emasculating.
Bottom Line Highly unlikely for my household, though I appreciate the designers' efforts—the Josh Smiths of their industry, so to speak. Wish the Tony Stewart NASCAR phone was cheap enough for consideration.

GE Cordless Bedroom Phone
Pros Transformers-like multifunctionality. Unobtrusive design. Programmable snooze, which is a feature I've been yearning for on my antiquated Sony Dream Machine.
Cons Do I really, truly need another low-end clock radio? Does anyone? Also, the handset is a throwback to the pre-mobile era—very rigid lines, not the elegant curves of today's more Razr-inspired numbers.
Bottom Line Another valiant attempt to make the cordless phone halfway interesting, but not sure an AM/FM radio really does it for me.

Uniden Submersible Cordless Phone
Pros Ostensibly waterproof, though I'm sure that "water-resistant" would be the more accurate description. Handset is yellow, the international color for ruggedized gadgets. Handset is also described as "floating," which can only be a good thing. Oh, and "Rubber Side Grips"? Yes, please!
Cons Ugh, an antiquated model operating at 900 MHz, which means you can expect lots of interference issues. Weird upright base station that'll probably tip over if placed on the floor instead of screwed into the wall. A low-end Uniden, a brand not known for its reliability (in my personal experience, at least).
Bottom Line I'd be enchanted if this were a 2.4 GHz phone, and the price was 10 bucks less. But if ifs and buts were candy and nuts...

As you can tell, I'm definitely leaning toward buying myself the Motorola camo phone. But I'm going to put my telephonic fate in your hands, comrades—am I making a mistake by bringing ursine ringtones into my life? Am I letting machismo cloud my judgment of the Hello Kitty phone's technological charms? Please, I beg of you—shower upon me your bountiful wisdom.

BRILLIANT SUCCESS: Engrish has always been a topic of great fascination 'round these parts. So, too, should its entertaining corollary—the hyper-optimism of Chinese corporate names.

I'm compiling a list of the sunniest-sounding Guangdong firms, inspired in part by a recent spam I received from one Ms. Dong Happy (who, unfortunately, is employed by the comparatively bland-sounding Qingdao Univer Import & Export Co., Ltd.). So far, my best catch is Brilliant Success Electronics Technology, based in the delightful gadgets mecca of Shenzhen. Anyone got something even more positive? Please share with the group in comments. The sunnier, the better—having an awful week over here, what with a slow leak causing my century-old hardwood floors to buckle, and my corner bodega no longer stocking Sapporo tall boys. Definitely could use the psychological boost of, say, a Wonderful Amazing Happy Smile Electronics Co, Ltd.

Brendan I. Koerner is a contributing editor at Wired and a columnist for both The New York Times and Slate. His Low End Theory column appears every Thursday on Gizmodo.

Read more Low End Theory

This here phone might look like it was used back in the 30s to call Hoover to complain about the economy, but it's actually a cordless phone with all the trimmings. You got your push-button dialing, your caller ID, call waiting, redial (yes, redial! The future is now!), and three-line display. It can do basically everything with the notable exceptions of making free VoIP calls or working anywhere rather than just in your house.

All this for a mere $189, and you don't even need to sign a two-year contract to get it! –Adam Frucci

Product Page [via Uber-Review]

We like that you can record up to 15 minutes of a conversation. And apparently the DECT features an acoustic chamber, which we are guessing mellows the usually harsh frequencies of receiver speakers, improving phone sex tenfold. We are also guessing that an intern was probably stuck with the job of handing out the cordless phone awards.– Mark Wilson

Phillips

Yeah, yeah, we know, you're using a cellphone at home, but not everybody's doing that, and not everybody's using the phone company's voicemail, either. For those Luddites who still want to have chic gear, V-Tech is stepping in with some nice-looking phones lately.

This i5871 is an expandable 5.8GHz system where you plug in one base station and you can add seven handsets. It's got a color handset display and a pretty cool-looking base station, too, that's also a digital answering machine.

This $130 model, along with the V-Tech 2335 we showed you the other day, proves that cellphones don't get to have all the fun. If you're sick of crappy cellphone reception at home, you might consider the advantages of good old land lines. – Charlie White

Product Page [V-Tech]

Pssst! Get it at Amazon for $130.

Here's even more good Skype news. Teaming up with consumer electronics giant Panasonic, the company is collaborating on a compatible telephone product that will let Panasonic cordless phones interface directly with Skype. You'll be able to make and receive Skype calls with the new product, as well as using the phone with traditional service. And of course, you'll have access to services such as SkypeOut(TM), SkypeIn(TM) and Skype Voicemail(TM) using a cordless phone and a computer running Skype. More info as it breaks at the show.