First cordless telephone

Cordless telephones were invented in 1956, but didn't become commercially available until 1980 when a number of manufacturers introduced them at a hefty price of around $400. The phones worked by using a radio link from handset to base station; the base station was then connected to the telephone network in the same way corded phones were. Early models of cordless phones were far from perfect: they suffered from interference of lines, a limited range, poor sound quality and a lack of security – anyone with a radio scanner could listen into calls.