Share your experiences with TV, Internet, and phone bundles

We’d like your help as we prepare our annual report, on bundled telecom services—those packages of television, Internet and telephone service sold by cable, phone, and satellite-TV companies.

Specifically, we’d like to know your experiences with, and some details about, your home telecom service. We’ve prepared a questionnaire that asks about how you get these services, whether they're bundled, and how easy or hard it was to sign up for them. The 20 questions—any or all of which you can answer—include queries about how you selected providers and whether you negotiated with them over prices.

Begin the quiz by clicking here. After you’re done, you’ll be taken to the results page, where you’ll get an early look at what other readers have reported.

Extra Extra: Consumer Reports Electronics Buying Guide is on sale

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It may be a tad early to start your holiday shopping, but there’s a good chance you’ve at least been thinking about it. Maybe you’ve had a big-ticket gift—like a new TV or home theater—in mind for a while now, but are putting off the purchase till November or December. If it’s sales you’re waiting for, you probably know what you want and how much you’re willing to pay. On the other hand, you might just a teeny bit leery of throwing so much cash at something you know very little about. Which is better: a plasma or LCD TV? Should you upgrade to a Blu-ray player or stick with standard-def DVDs?

If you find yourself in need of expert advice, consider the newest edition of the Consumer Reports Electronics Buying Guide. Inside you’ll find a wealth of information on everything from televisions and computers to smart phones, GPS units, and much more. For each product, the Consumer Reports editors walk you through the basics, explaining what’s available, which features matter, brand profiles, and offering tried-and-true shopping tips.

In addition to product information, the guide offers advice on how to shop smarter, including:

• Netting the best deals online, and protecting yourself when you shop on the Web


• When to repair and when to replace a broken item


• How to haggle effectively


• Finding the best electronics retailer based on our comprehensive annual survey


• How to save—and what to be wary of—with refurbished or open-box products on store shelves


• Where to get free office software, free computer security programs, and more useful freeware

New Ratings of cordless phones: Better than ever, generally speaking

They may not grab headlines much anymore, but cordless home phones continue to improve, as illustrated by the latest batch of models posted to our Ratings, available to subscribers.

Much of the credit is due to a technology called DECT, short for Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications. Phones with DECT technology—which comprise 23 of the 34 models in our updated Ratings—don't have the interference problems that often plagued their analog and digital predecessors, since they use the 1.9-GHz frequency band the FCC reserved for them (and other voice-only devices). They also have better talk times (sometimes exceeding 20 hours) than phones with those older technologies, and work over greater distances from their bases.

[UPDATE Sept. 2, 2009: As a reader noted, the Panasonic KX-TG6413T cordless phone does not have talking caller ID since it lacks an unattended auto-answering function. —Ed.]

Some models also add other conveniences to make calling easier. For example, the Panasonic KX-TG6413T, a phone-answerer that costs $80, can save you the hassle of leaving your comfy couch just to see lets you know who's calling without looking at the phone’s caller-ID. It verbally announces callers via talking caller ID, and also allows you to assign frequent or important callers their own, distinct ring tones. You can even block telemarketers and other nuisance callers by storing their numbers on the phone's call-block directory.

And another phone-answerer, the The Uniden DECT 2060-2, $60, is a very good phone-answerer to have if eavesdropping is a concern. If you don’t want people on other extensions to listen in on your conversation, push a button and they'll be locked out. In this mode, the word “Unavailable” will appear on the displays of the extension phones.

Has voicemail killed the answering machine?

The morning DJ's that jolly me through my miserable morning commute—Scott and Todd on WPLJ—had an amusing exchange this morning. Scott, the senior member of the gang and somewhat of a technophobe, said he stopped into some Verizon and AT&T wireless stores to buy an answering machine and was surprised they couldn't help him.

The gang yucked it up over his faux pas, conjuring up images of an answering machine tucked into a backpack and tethered to a cellphone. But then they jumped online to help him find an old-fashioned, standalone machine to hook up to his landline phones, even though they couldn't understand why he didn't use the phone company's voice mail service or buy a phone with an integrated answering function.

Consumer Reports hasn't covered standalone answerers for some time now, but we do report on cordless phones with integrated answerers.

I bought a phone like that but don't use it. I prefer the voice mail that my cable company offers as part of its phone service, especially the ability to go online and listen to messages while I'm at work. The only downside is that I don't get a visual alert when I get a voice mail message—just a stutter tone when I pick up the handset. (There are some phones that have a light indicating a voice mail is waiting, but mine doesn't.)

What are your druthers when it comes to voice mail vs. answering machine? —Eileen McCooey

Update: About 911 and "disconnected" landlines

As some of you have pointed out in our recent post, Using your cell phone as your home phone comes with a risk, some states do require local carriers to maintain a "soft" or "warm" dial tone, which allows you to call 911 on a line that has been disconnected or is otherwise inactive.

An up-to-date-list of affected states is elusive; we struck out in obtaining one from the FCC and some industry groups. However, the following are likely states for some form of soft-tone requirement; we assembled the list from data in an FCC report published in 2000 (Adobe Acrobat software required) and a North American Numbering Council (NANCE) report published in 2002 (link requires Microsoft Word or compatible word processing software).

Here they are:

• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Iowa
• Massachusetts
• Minnesota
• Montana
• New York
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Vermont
• Washington
• Wyoming

Using a cell phone as your home phone comes with a risk

The economic downturn is causing more households to pare down services to save money. You'd think one of those might be service to the family’s cell phones, but according to a new Center for Disease Control (CDC) study, it's often the landline that's getting the ax.

During the last half of 2008, 20 percent of U.S. households used only cell phones, compared with 17 percent of the households with landlines that had no cell phones.

It easy to see why people would prefer the mobility of a cell phone over a stodgy landline, especially since falling rates for unlimited minutes are actually making them the better bargain. And, as the Associated Press reports, cell phones users are less likely to be annoyed by pollsters because federal laws prohibit them from using computers to place calls to wireless phones.

But landline connections do have one important advantage over cells: They're safer. With emergency calls made over a landline, 911 operators know for certain the address and location of call. Not so with cell phones, which use much less-direct—and less-consistent—system for connecting with emergency responders.

Vandals leave Californians without phone or Internet service

It’s amazing how much damage a pair of wire-cutters can do.

Officials declared a local state of emergency in northern California yesterday after vandals pried up manhole covers and severed eight fiber-optic cables, resulting in the loss of cell phone, landline, and Internet service for tens of thousands of residents in Santa Clara County. 911 service was also disrupted, prompting the mobilization of emergency responders.

The service outage affected AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon customers. AT&T is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible.

The takeaway: Emergencies like this point out just how dependent we are on technology, and how vulnerable we are to real-world crime as well as online threats. Wednesday’s news that international infiltrators have compromised our electrical grid adds to the concern. While there is no way a consumer can prepare for a total system outage, you can take steps to cope with less drastic situations, such as a blackout. For more on responding to emergencies, check out our natural disaster guide.

What would you do if you woke up and found yourself electronically marooned from the outside world?

T-Mobile wants your kitchen counter

Already common in customers' pockets and handbags, wireless carrier T-Mobile wants to develop a phone for your kitchen counter. The cellular service provider is planning to sell a home phone and tablet computer in early 2010, reports the New York Times. Both will run on Android, the open-source platform developed by Google.

T-Mobile isn't the only cell carrier attempting to establish itself as a home phone. Verizon's Hub and AT&T's HomeManager are tabletop consoles that attempt to streamline household communication, from phone use to Internet tools like email, checking the day’s weather, or even watching a movie.

The takeaway: Conventional landline customers are, in increasing numbers, switching to cheaper Internet-based plans from cable companies, or relying entirely their mobile phones. Wireless carriers are hoping to snare some of these defectors by offering them a richer array of home-based services and hardware. For more help on finding the right mobile phone for your needs, see our free online buying advice on cell phones and smart phones. And if you're looking for more ways to save money on your phone bills, check out our post on cutting your cell phone bill and tips for finding the best phone deals. —Mike Gikas & Nick Mandle

Cell phone Do Not Call list? No need to call.

If the in-boxes of Consumer Reports' staffers are any indication, there's currently another uptick in e-mails warning that America’s cell-phone numbers are about to be posted in a national 411 directory for use by telemarketers. Unless you call 888-382-1212 888-382-1222 to register it on the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Do Not Call List, the messages say, you'll soon receive a flood of telemarketer calls.

This is false. There is neither a deadline nor even such a directory, at least not yet. The e-mails even get the relevant agency wrong; the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates cell phones, not the FTC.

It's actually illegal for telemarketers to call your cell phone, though your carrier or its partners have the legal right to text you with upgrade offers or account notices. (For tips on curbing unwanted text messages on your cell phone, see: "Cell-phone spam: How to curb it.") Also, non-commercial organizations such as charities and political campaigns can contact you all they want, on your landline or your cell.

You can register your cell-phone number with the FTC's Do Not Call Registry (https://www.donotcall.gov/), but the agency will as yet do little or nothing with it. The registry is for landline numbers. You used to have to re-register those with the FTC every five years. But now registrations remain in effect until you change your number, thanks to the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007 that became law in February 2008.

If telemarketers or others harass you on your home or cell phone, you can file a complaint with the FCC by filling out online form 1088. Make a note of the time, and any caller details (caller ID comes in handy in these situations).

—Mike Gikas

[UPDATE March 31, 2009: We corrected an error in the toll-free number for the "Do Not Call" registry. —Ed.]

Essential gadgets for emergencies

With Texans along the Gulf Coast recovering from Hurricane Dolly, we thought it would be a good time to mention electronics gear that can be invaluable to have before, during and after a natural disaster or other emergency. Of course, there are other items you'll need, such as flashlights, water, and more. For a complete checklist and other tips on preparing for—and dealing with the aftermath of—devastating storms and disasters, see our free Storm and Emergency guide on ConsumerReports.org.

On the electronics front, here's what we recommend:

• Make sure you have an emergency radio—powered by either batteries or a hand-crank—which will work even if the lights go out. A radio can pull in vital news, weather, and evacuation information from AM radio stations, which have further "reach" than TV broadcasters.
• Have at least one corded phone that doesn't require electricity. A cordless phone's base station won't run without juice.
• Keep your cell phone charged and have alternative power options—a car adapter or a portable cell phone charger that uses common AA batteries or features a hand crank or other "green" energy source.
• Consider having family members use different cell phone service providers in case one carrier goes down.
• Know how to text message. If cell towers are still up but available bandwidth is limited, a text message may be able to get through when voice calls won't.
• Learn how to browse the Web on an Internet-enabled phone. You'll have news bulletins, maps, and more at your fingertips.
• Have a portable GPS navigation system, which can be handy if you have to evacuate through unfamiliar routes and areas.