Home > Consumer Reviews > GE 26958GE1 Corded Speakerphone Base and 900 MHz Cordless Telephone with Call Waiting/Caller ID

Replaced 3 phones and a speaker (total of 4) with a GE 26955GE1 and a GE 26958GE1 (total of 4 phones). Both GEs consist of corded phone (which does require a wall-jack) and a cordless handset (which only requires power). After reviewing dozens of other models of 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz phones, I opted for these.

Wanted corded units to ensure phones remained in the kitchen and computer room, and cordless handsets to roam the house. The cordless phones don't interfere with each other and are immune to the microwave in the kitchen (many 2.4 GHz models are reportedly effected by microwaves and fight with wireless LAN networks).

Having Caller-ID in both the corded base and the handset is essential -- we don't answer "Unknown caller"s. The cordless is ideal next to your bed, the handset sits upright in its charger and the Caller-ID display is backlit -- it's easy to see at night. The Caller-ID on the base is hard to see from an angle -- you've got to be over top of it, not have it pushed to the back of your desk/table.

Controls are easy to use, we use the Page/Intercom button to transfer calls between the house and the yard (we usually carry a cordless out to the spa or garage) -- and also to locate wayward handsets. Both corded and cordless handsets have volume controls and ringer-off switches. Can access the answering machine functions remotely (dial-in), directly from the base, or from the cordless.

We've been able to get 4 people on the 4 phones with virtually no problem. Range of cordless is fine ... can reach the front mailbox and spa out back. Quality is great too ... no static.

I'm a perfectionist though, here's where are the cons:
* Caused static on my corded Sony caller-ID phone (Model #IT-ID70) ... but not on any other phone
* Can't review caller-ID log while either handset is off-hook
* Can't store numbers directly from caller-ID to the dialing directory
* Unusually loud feedback circuit -- my own voice frequently overloads my earpiece (don't know what it sounds like on the remote end).
* The white color looks good now, but will probably show wear, dirt, and make-up easily.
* Headset jack on the cordless accepts my wife's Nokia cell phone, but it doesn't work (GE wants $35 for theirs).

During Christmas 2001, no literature was available on these models -- they are made by Thompson Consumer Products, part of the GE family now (Thompson CSF makes French Exocet anti-ship missiles).

The 26958 met all the criteria I was looking for in a phone. It's well designed and sturdily built. Programming is simple and straightforward, even without refering to the manual. This feature was especially important to me, since I purchased the phone for someone who is technologically challenged.

It has all the features you would want in a phone: cordless phone, digital answering machine, caller ID, and speakerphone. The combination of a corded base unit and separate cordless gives you an additional extension. More importantly, if there is a power failure or the battery dies, you still have a phone.

The handset is larger and heavier than many of the cordless units available, but it doesn't seem to be a problem. The handset display is easier to read than many cordless phones, and it lights up when the phone is in use.

This phone works great...to a point. However, less than 8 weeks after we started using the phone, the Caller ID went out. The only way to get it to work was to unplug the phone and plug it back in, and not only did that mess up the time signature, it only works for a couple of hours before the phone displays "no data" again. GE Customer Support was completely unhelpful, as this phone is manufactured by Thomson, and they would do nothing on our behalf. Thomson will not exchange the phone without us sending it back in to them and waiting six weeks for a returned phone. Thomson has no customer support for this phone and its phone line is merely an automated system. This is inexcusable - I need a phone that works properly! It is great if you get a working one, admittedly...but if you don't, expect a long wait. (And Office Depot, who sells the phone, offers their own product replacement, but it has to be out of manufacturer warranty. So we're still hosed.)

I wish I could find another phone like this by another manufacturer. It's an OK phone, but the little things are really beginning to bug me (after 4 months): can't read main display at night (backlight only comes on when phone is in use or phone is ringing); cordless charge doesn't last very long (a couple of days off the charger, without a lot of use, and it needs to be reacharged again); answering machine doesn't play the announcement so you can hear whether or not the announcement is working (also, other answering machines we've had stop the announcement if the caller hangs up); no good way to just view the caller-id's of the "new" calls; no way to delete "old" caller-id calls. Phone works fine, just the little things really beginning to bother me.

This phone does not have the option of only playing new messages. Either remotely or at the base station. You've got to listen to or skip each one individually.

There is a virtually unnoticeable "message waiting" light on both the handset and the base. It is miniscule and it doesn't blink.

It takes a few seconds for the dial tone to appear on the handset.

The phone will only answer your remote code when you've finished listening to your outgoing message, which is incredibly annoying. But not as annoying as the fact that it plays your outgoing message REALLY LOUD when the machine picks up at the base. Why does it play your message at all? And then, if someone leaves a message, you can't hear him/her AT ALL. The sound is practically nil at home or from a remote location.

I would have liked this machine very much in the 1970s, but come on GE, the technology has advanced just a tad since then.

I'm taking mine back today.