There are plenty of home phones available but sometimes it’s hard to decide which one is right for you. We’ve created a guide to help you choose a home phone that includes the features you need the most.

• Corded – Although not as popular as they once were, each home should still have at least one corded phone as they provide a constant reliable phone connection. The power for corded phones comes from the telephone exchange rather than a utility company so you’ll never risk being without a phone during a power cut. Corded phones generally have a better sound quality, but prevent you from moving around the house while talking.

• Cordless – Cordless phones are now more popular as they allow you to walk around your house or garden while on the phone. Instead of a cord a cordless phone uses radio frequency to transmit messages. You’ll still have a base to store your phone. When you buy a cordless phone you should check the range that it offers, as the bigger the house the more range you’ll need. It should also have good sound quality.

• Nuisance call blocker – A few of the latest corded and cordless BT home phones include a new feature that puts you back in control of who can get in touch with you. It allows you to intercept all calls from numbers not on your contact list whilst allowing all of your saved number to get straight through to you. Any caller not on your contact list or already blocked is required to announce their name prior to getting through, allowing you to choose which calls to accept or reject. All of the BT nuisance call blocker home phones incorporate the award winning trueCall call blocking technology.

• Caller ID and display – again, most phones have this already now, but it’s something you should still look out for. The caller ID feature allows you to save names to numbers so that you can see who’s calling you and who has tried calling but missed you. It also allows you to show or hide your own number and if you can receive incoming calls, your caller ID will show who is calling.
• Hands free – for even more convenience you might want to ensure that your new home phone has a hands-free feature. It’s a speaker that lets you speak and listen without holding the phone to your ear.
• Talk time – this is the amount of time that you can talk on the phone without needing to recharge the batteries. If you find yourself on the phone a lot then you will need a lot of talk time; if you’re only using the home phone as an emergency then you won’t require as much. This feature is only applicable to cordless phones.
• Name and number memory – This will allow your phone to store names and numbers allowing you to always have easy access to the numbers you dial the most frequently. Many people use this feature to store family and friends’ numbers.
• LED screen – Do you want your phone to light up as well as ring when someone calls? This is useful as it makes the number easier to read, but is also ideal for those who often have trouble hearing.