This is the infamous Mitel 5220 IP Phone set to SIP Firmware. I say infamous because it has an artistic value to a photographer. You saw this one before…
Basics on the ROLM CBX
This film made c 1980 shows how the ROLM CBX works. The CBX stood for the Computerized Branch Exchange and it differed from other phone systems that signaled the devices and machines differently. ROLM didn’t care about “dumbing down” the content to make it easier to understand. Despite the cute character, the intent in these engineering focused companies was to keep it highly technical.
For whatever reason the company did very well until the suits from New York decided to go into phone systems and then destroy it within several years, just like what AT&T did to NCR in the early 1990s. IBM (yes that same IBM that believed people needed to be “computer literate” to use a large mainframe) really lacked the telephony and innovative literacy to help pull them out into their misery in the early 1990s.
Siemens would later buy them out and use ROLM’s brains and talent to replace their existing offerings and inherited many of ROLM’s designs, and other tangible assets that made ROLM what they were for a period of time.
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POTD: Polycom VVX 310 SIP Telephone, part two
Continuing on a photo only post of the Polycom VVX 310
POTD: Polycom VVX 310 SIP Telephone
This is a revised post of the VVX SIP sets I got from the street of a business that relocated in fall of 2016. I was able to tell that they were using Comcast’s SIP services by looking at the config screens. Of which, I do not prefer if I wanted to use a cloud phone system with less than 20 phones. Security wise, it scares me. I recently acquired some SIP phones for work purposes, and they came from second hand complete with a Ring Central handle and password. The seller is lucky I wouldn’t do anything illegal like toll fraud. I always recommend SIP Proxy services when possible. SIP Proxies are basically the modern day “splitter” since VOIP is all software base. Even Free and Open Source Software can do this for free on existing store-bought routers.
Complete with the 6 call appearances, line appearances, but only up to 6! and 4 softkeys that can only go up to 4 features! Also a Gigabit connectivity is great if you want speed without sacrificing using Fast Ethernet.
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POTD: Avaya 9650 IP Deskphone
This little fancy gadget is the 9650 IP Deskphone from Avaya. Introduced in 2006, to replace the 6 year old 4600 Series; these phones were initially thought of as clones to Cisco given some of the similarities. This was also Avaya’s first sets to move away from the simple to use user interface, to the flip phone like functionality (to change ringers, you do not press Conference when idling, and most one touch features doubled or doubled in a half.) Sadly the legacy AT&T, then Lucent to become Avaya’s simple, telephone line focused digital or IP sets were never applauded. (This is why I rave this company I used to kinda favor.)
In 2008, similar paper-desi sets came along as the 1600 Series, and digital sets 9500 and 9400 series and 1400 series for paper desis. In the Avaya world, people like to choose to express how they want to assign their buttons. In color and their own words. Some sets that use screens instead do not allow the systems administrator to use their own form of assigning buttons. If you want to put blame, blame the customer, but remember the customer is the one whose right, not the vendor at least in traditional American business norms.
POTD: Avaya 4602SW IP Telephone
In today’s set of updated photos of my telephone sets, this 4602SW is featured. Did some more scurbbin and cleanin and it look a more decent. I bought this a few years back for under $5 at my local thrift store. It does SIP well, unlike some of the other 4600s.
POTD: Artsy photo of an Avaya 302B Attendant Console
An artsy picture of the Avaya/Lucent/AT&T 302B Attendant Console, made in the late 1980s, one of the few sets with button caps for the switchboard control of the System 75 and Definity PBX. Taken with a Nikon D3200 DSLR camera on Aperture priority, ISO 800.
POTD: Aastra 390 PowerTouch
Via Joe the UCX Guy from 2016, if memory serves me.
It’s alive and well. This is an older telset from October 22nd, 2002. Private label from Shoreline Communications that would become ShoreTel that in full circle merged with Mitel just over a year ago whom of which also acquired Aastra a few years back.
Go ahead and make your head spin as I still can’t get over how Polycom and Plantronics tied the knot and a distro company buying the source code (Sagnoma/Free PBX> Digium/Asterisk.) These were just within year to date mergers.
POTD: Voadi Starplus II
The New and Improved Phone of the Day will continue into the end of the year with a refresh of photos due to an internal reorganization of the asset collection (which meant a new snap of pictures!) Today is a vintage Vodadi Starplus II analog/POTS telephone. (The legacy brand has been part of Vertical for a decade.)