Was watching Scream (1996) and the main character was using a cordless landline phone. But I remember at least in my house (and those I knew as well, even more well off people) having landline phones with cords as late as '97, '98.

When did cordless landline phones become a mainstream thing which pretty much everyone had--around what year in the '90s?

They were used in WWI and WWII ... oh wait ... those were cordless land mines!  ::)

Around 1983-84 or so. This article from 1984 explains how many electronics/department retailers were selling cordless phones for under $50, very affordable at the time:

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1291&dat=19840325&id=R1pUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=towDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4612,8872396&hl=ennt stores

Answering machines also became popular around this time. IMO despite the presence of corded landlines (and even some rotary dials), I think of corded push-button phones as a '70s thing. I picture the '80s as a mix of corded touchtone, cordless, and a few rotary holdouts. When I think of '90s phones, I think of speakerphones, early caller ID, and moderately large, monochrome cellular phones (as we called it back then), with the corded phones being holdouts. That said, my current house did install a new phone in 2008 that did have a cord, so in essence there are still some around.

"The first cordless phones were actually created in 1965, but it could be said that the technology might have been developed earlier if the laws in the US were different."

http://www.visionlaunch.com/when-were-cordless-phones-invented/

We didn't have a cordless phone until 2006!

Around 1983-84 or so. This article from 1984 explains how many electronics/department retailers were selling cordless phones for under $50, very affordable at the time:

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1291&dat=19840325&id=R1pUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=towDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4612,8872396&hl=ennt stores

Answering machines also became popular around this time. IMO despite the presence of corded landlines (and even some rotary dials), I think of corded push-button phones as a '70s thing. I picture the '80s as a mix of corded touchtone, cordless, and a few rotary holdouts. When I think of '90s phones, I think of speakerphones, early caller ID, and moderately large, monochrome cellular phones (as we called it back then), with the corded phones being holdouts. That said, my current house did install a new phone in 2008 that did have a cord, so in essence there are still some around.


See, we had answering machines (albeit we had the kind that you needed to put a microcassette tape in to record your voicemail, which accidentally resulted in some phone conversations being taped recorded back in '92). But even looking through old pictures, we didn't have a cordless phone until at least '97. We had touchtone phones, never a rotary phone though. My grandmother did, though, in her kitchen all the way up until the early '00s. Probably the same phone that was in the house when she bought it back in '61.

I don't remember my parents having cell phones until around '98. They had pagers before that

We

We didn't have a cordless phone until 2006!
We still have ours stowed in a cupboard.

See, we had answering machines (albeit we had the kind that you needed to put a microcassette tape in to record your voicemail, which accidentally resulted in some phone conversations being taped recorded back in '92). But even looking through old pictures, we didn't have a cordless phone until at least '97. We had touchtone phones, never a rotary phone though. My grandmother did, though, in her kitchen all the way up until the early '00s. Probably the same phone that was in the house when she bought it back in '61.

I don't remember my parents having cell phones until around '98. They had pagers before that

We


This is pretty similar to us. My parents got their first answering machine around 1993, their first caller-ID in 1995, and their first cordless phone in 1996. My grandparents got finally got a cordless phone in 1999.

My mother also got her first cell phone around 1998, but I didn't get one for myself until 2005.

My mother also got her first cell phone around 1998, but I didn't get one for myself until 2005.

I didn't get one till 2000.

Because at my house we were always tardy to the party on new things, we had rotary still in the earliest of the 90's... :-[ Shameful isn't it?

We got our first cordless phone in 1995. Before that, we had an old phone which we had to rent from the post office. Caller ID was available in Germany around 1998. That's the year we got that, too. Our answering machines were always digital.

We got our first cordless phone in 1995. Before that, we had an old phone which we had to rent from the post office. Caller ID was available in Germany around 1998. That's the year we got that, too. Our answering machines were always digital.

I've never heard of renting a phone. Why did you have to rent yours?

I've never heard of renting a phone. Why did you have to rent yours?


Our national telephone provider was part of the national government post office until 1995. It was privatized on January 1st, 1995 and after that date, everybody was allowed to buy a telephone from any company. But until late 1994, you had to rent one from the post office. Telephone and internet issues were highy regulated until that time.

Because at my house we were always tardy to the party on new things, we had rotary still in the earliest of the 90's... :-[ Shameful isn't it?


I don't think it's shameful.

I've never heard of renting a phone. Why did you have to rent yours?



Our national telephone provider was part of the national government post office until 1995. It was privatized on January 1st, 1995 and after that date, everybody was allowed to buy a telephone from any company. But until late 1994, you had to rent one from the post office. Telephone and internet issues were highy regulated until that time.


That was standard in the UK as well.  I don't recall when it was privatised, though it must have been sometime earlier than this as my boyfriend (now husband) bought his own landline phone for his house in 1990.

We bought cordless phones for the house we moved into in 1997, but they were probably around a little before that.

I have to add something:

I am pretty sure you could also buy phones in Germany, but you had to order it via the post office. Renting was an alternate way to get a phone.

That's how ours looked like:

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Post-FeTAp-751-Telefon-Klassiker-weinrot-Telekom-Tasten-rot-TAE-Stecker-/00/s/MTMzMlgxNjAw/z/X3AAAOxy3cJTjYDc/%24_35.JPG

It was also available with a rotary dial which was cheaper, but we always had buttons. I think, the first phone I remember was from the early 80s, because that's when our house was built.

I am pretty sure you could also buy phones in Germany, but you had to order it via the post office. Renting was an alternate way to get a phone.

Why did you order it from the post office? ???

Why did you order it from the post office? ???


Because the government had the monopole on phone related stuff.

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Post-FeTAp-751-Telefon-Klassiker-weinrot-Telekom-Tasten-rot-TAE-Stecker-/00/s/MTMzMlgxNjAw/z/X3AAAOxy3cJTjYDc/%24_35.JPG

We've had the same model just different color.

I think we got our first cordless in the mid 90ies.

Our main landline, 1995:
http://s14.postimg.org/dvx8es6r5/ryanpics3_2.jpg

I don't remember my parents having cell phones until around '98. They had pagers before that



Yes, those were the "in" thing back then! I never had one of those.

Yes, those were the "in" thing back then! I never had one of those.

I still have a pager somewhere in my room, it doesn't work though.

Renting phones was a thing back in the day.  In a 1982 episode of WKRP in Cincinnati, Johnny and Venus are DJing from the radio transmitter and as Johnny slowly starts to lose his mind, he smashes the telephone, than gets all paranoid that the "phone cops" are going to come after him for what he did lol

cTPzTG1Lx60

Renting phones was a thing back in the day.  In a 1982 episode of WKRP in Cincinnati, Johnny and Venus are DJing from the radio transmitter and as Johnny slowly starts to lose his mind, he smashes the telephone, than gets all paranoid that the "phone cops" are going to come after him for what he did lol


I should clarify this. A person didn't just walk around "renting phones" like one rents a car. But, in the days of landline phones, when one moved into a place and got the telephone turned on, the phone(s) that would be installed were owned by the phone company, Bell Telephone, later American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T). They had a legal monopoly until they were broken up in 1983. Hence they were known as "Ma Bell". So when they came in and installed the phone lines, the physical telephone came with it. When you move out or cancelled your service they came and took the telephone away. Pretty much the way cable TV works today. Your cable company owns the box and you have to return it if you cancel the service.

From 1990. Sheeler and Sheeler


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF-iAV9YOqY


Cat