My Last Desk Phone!

I have always had a desk phone over my 36 year career. Until last Friday!

Firstly, a VT100 dumb terminal (sort of a very thin client running at 1200 bps) and a phone; then an IBM 3270 running off of a mainframe and a phone; then a Mac and a phone; then a PC and a phone; and, over the last number of years, a laptop docking station, monitor and a phone.

My office phone has been a constant companion, and kept me in touch some 300,000 times over those years.

Last Friday, I unplugged my desk phone!

On the road and at home I use my laptop equipped with a UC client and headset. The primary use of my desk phone was as a speakerphone (I have a closed office). I got an LG-Nortel USB phone 8501 (which was designed to work with the Microsoft Office Communicator) and plugged it into my docking station. The 8501 includes a handset and a speakerphone but no keypad; it’s not really a phone, since I dial and accept calls on my UC client, leveraging my personal and corporate directory and click to call capabilities. It does the job nicely.

nortel8501.jpg

If I get a call before I start up my laptop (or if I’m in the process of rebooting it), then I have set up my UC client to ring my cell phone, so no missed calls. Otherwise, it’s business as usual: my office number is unchanged and my unified messaging works as before. And I’m ready for the future: 100% SIP-based.

This isn't for everyone, but sure works for me.

One drawback. Ask me to dial 1-800-4Nortel and I have to flip open my cell phone to help me convert this to a number I can dial;)

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1 Comment

Can you expand on your comment "This isn't for everyone, but sure works for me."?
Other than having to use you cell phone to spell phone numbers, what other drawbacks are you referring to that would make this set up not for everybody?

TonyRyb: Here're three major reasons, customers are telling me.
1) I am used to having my phone, its features and quality (partially though not totally a generational thing)
2) I am not that comfortable with a PC or don't even have one (not the case of knowledge workers)
3) I need my phone to work when there is a power failure, when the PC is (re)-booting etc (depends on the job function)
See also my Dec 20th posting.

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