Look, I know I am going to get flamed for saying this, but cordless phones are not all that bad. When compared to their ‘cellular’ counterparts, I think that cordless phones still have their place.

With that being said, I also realize that they will never come close in the ‘cool factor’ when being compared to the techy goodness of the truly mobile phone.

For a device that has become a part of everyday life, cordless telephones had an inauspicious debut in the United States. Just over 24 years ago, Telephonics Communications introduced what it called the Extend-A-Phone, a cordless set made for it in Japan by Uniden. Because of its $179 price, a substantial amount at the time, Telephonics targeted car dealers and furniture stores as the phone’s first customers.

“We tried to get them to buy them as a tool that allowed them not to miss a call when they were on the sales floor,” said Al Silverberg, a former Telephonic employee who is now president and chief executive of Uniden America.