As you may have noticed, none of the landline phones I tested come with a telephone cord. That’s because, basically, it’s really hard to find corded landline phones anymore. Of the major brands I reached out to, only BT offers corded phones as a matter of course. Even then, they are considered outdated technology. Comparing the quality of these cordless phones with my desk phone which has a cord, I didn’t notice any real difference. In general, landlines with cords are often more expensive and lack functions such as call blocking or a built-in phone book. However, there is one very good reason to use a landline phone: they work without power. During a power cut, corded landline phones draw power from the local telephone exchange which usually has a back-up generator. Cordless phones can’t do this because usually the base station requires power too. This means you can call the emergency services in the event of a fire or accident. Then again, most of us will have a mobile phone as a back-up, so a corded phone is still probably not necessary for the vast majority of people. If you’re looking for a new phone with all the best features, you’re best off going cordless, but if you’re set on having a corded phone, the cheapest option I could find was the BT Duet which costs just £12.99.