These Uniden and Panasonic handsets are touted as long-range cordless phones, helping overcome interference issues and reach to the furthest corners of your home and backyard. They offer roughly the same range, letting you place the base station in the front room and then make calls from the other side of the road, two doors up. Panasonic includes a repeater, which further extends the range, while Uniden sells repeaters for about $70. The charge cradles for additional handsets don't act as repeaters.

Both cordless handsets offer a neat trick – charging the base station so that during a blackout you can still make calls. Unfortunately this won't save the day if you're on the NBN and your broadband router also needs power for the home phone to work.

UNIDEN XDECT 8315+1

$129.95 (two handsets)

Phone calls sound much more natural on the Uniden, unless you turn up the Panasonic's treble settings to compensate. Even then the Uniden sounds a tad louder and clearer. Uniden's ringtones are also much louder than Panasonic's, making it easier to find the phone. As an added bonus, the Uniden base station talks to your mobile phone via Bluetooth (see Check This Out) plus it can charge your phone.

PANASONIC KX-TG8032ALB

$179.95 (two handsets)

The Panasonic is more expensive but in return you get that repeater to extend the range. Plus, as an added bonus, the Panasonic base station has a built-in answering machine. The Panasonic and Uniden are on a par when it comes to coping with wireless interference. (Note: this two-handset Panasonic model has been discontinued and might be hard to find, but you can step up to a $229.95 three-handset model).

VERDICT

Uniden is the winner when it comes to sound quality, while Panasonic offers greater range thanks to the inclusion of a repeater. Realistically Panasonic's repeater is overkill for your typical suburban home but could come in handy if you live on a larger property.

CHECK THIS OUT

​This Uniden DECT base station will also connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth, letting you use the DECT handsets to make hands-free mobile calls (some Panasonic DECT cordless phones offer the same feature). This is handy if your mobile calls tend to drop out as you walk around the house, as you can leave your smartphone on the windowsill – where it gets good mobile reception – and still make mobile calls from anywhere in the house.