Object Lesson: Bush Airwave Cordless Telephone

Sometimes a gadget comes along which makes you wonder how you managed without it all this time. You know how irritating it is when the phone rings while you're watching the television? Worse, when the person who's interrupting Coronation Street is inaudible just because you've turned the volume up too high? Worse still, you can't find the remote to turn the TV down, and the caller remains unheard over the din of the Rover's Return.

Well, with the Bush Airwave cordless telephone (pounds 49.99), this need never happen to you again. Cannily built into the back of the phone is a programmable seven-key universal remote control. A remote control which, by definition, cannot be mislaid when anyone calls - it rings, you see. The phone itself has the usual features: paging, redial, 150m range, noise reduction and gives you a full six hours of talktime.

It's available in yellow, white and green, and although it doesn't have the technically superior sound quality offered by the latest digital cordless phones, it uses the most recently released radio frequencies, which promise less likelihood of your neighbour using the same channel. And anyway, you've got eight channels to choose from. Available from Tandy, or call 01923 859 777 for stockists. David Phelan