How you choose a landline phone depends primarily on how you want to use it and how much you want to spend. Following is a list of considerations to assist you in choosing the right phone for you.

* Determine whether you want just a phone or a phone/answering machine. If you want a phone with an answering machine, consider the voice quality for recorded messages and greetings. Most phones allow you to record your greeting through the handset, which provides for better voice quality. Plus, you can also listen to the greeting through the handset, so you know how the greeting sounds to the calling party.

Answering machines have many features, including number of rings before the machine picks up, an on/off control switch, call screening, remote access, and speaker volume control. For power outages, most have a memory to save the greeting and any messages.

* How many phones lines do you want? A phone that supports two phone lines can receive calls from two different phone numbers. This is desirable for a home that wants one line for business calls and the other line for personal calls. These phones can also have two different ringers, with the distinctive pitch telling you which line is ringing.

* Choose a frequency. If you have few or no wireless devices near your phone, consider a 2.4-gigahertz band. If you have a lot of wireless devices, you may want to look into devices called “wireless network friendly” or “802.11-friendly.”

Why we like it: • Two handsets • Good answering machine • Over 15 hours of talk time on a charge

* How many bells and whistles do you want? Do you want caller ID, speakerphone capability, or conferencing capability? A mute button allows you to mute the incoming call, thus allowing you to converse with someone else in your location without the caller listening in. A predictable rule of thumb: the more features, the higher the price.

* Do you want the base able to be wall mounted?

* While at the store, try out the handset. Does it fit in your hand comfortably? Does it fit the contours of your face, and does the earpiece feel comfortable over your ear. Are the buttons and controls an adequate size?

* Do you want analog or digital technology?

* Does your phone have a battery backup? Battery backups are important because they protect the phone’s memory in case the phone is unplugged. Note that batteries are usually not included with your phone purchase.

* Make sure to check the phone’s packaging to confirm you’re getting the features you want.