Cordless phones: for a cellular world.(Buyers guide)

The world may be going cellular at a rapid clip, but the humble cordless phone still has a place in many homes.

A handful of models are adapting by letting you make and take calls on your cellphone account, while others try to avoid the interference caused by home networks and other wireless devices.

These new phones have just begun to trickle into the marketplace and represent only a couple of the models in our Ratings. If you are looking to buy a phone now, they may not be at the top of your list, given the sparse selection and comparatively high prices. However, here's a brief look at what you're likely to see in the future.

* Bluetooth phones. Some cordless models can tap into cell-phone service using wireless Bluetooth technology, allowing you to make and take calls over either service. One phone in the Ratings, the $210 Uniden ELBT 595, uses this technology. More models from Uniden and VTech with greater wireless compatibility are expected in the next year.

* 1.9-gigahertz phones. The transmissions of cordless phones, home networks, and other wireless devices can interfere with each other because they share the 2.4GHz frequency band. New models called DECT phones, for Digitally Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications, address the problem by using the 1.9-GHz band, reserved by the Federal Communications Commission last year exclusively for voice-only applications. Our Ratings include one of the first such phones in the U.S., the $100 Philips DECT2251G/37.

If you're just looking for a conventional cordless phone for your home, there's a bit of good news to report about those, as well. Prices have fallen about 10 percent since last year, with the biggest price drops among digital models.

HOW TO CHOOSE