Time for a better phone

I’m one of those people who likes a good old-fashioned desktop phone. You know the kind of thing, big, black and chunky with a curly cord for the handset which ends up in knots seconds after you’ve straightened it!

Unfortunately desktop phone technology hasn’t quite kept pace with what’s been happening elsewhere and there are couple of things I’d like to see altered and improved.

First off, I’d like to be able to buy a desktop phone with Bluetooth connectivity built in. It would make connecting a headset a lot easier, not to mention cheaper given the horrendous prices asked for some plug-in sets . Added to which I’d be able to operate my mobile through it which would be a real boon – not least because it’s a lot harder to lose a desktop phone than a mobile.

And surely it ought also be possible to replace the twisty cord with Bluetooth – or is that too much like a wireless phone for comfort?

Secondly, I’d like a desktop phone with a large touch-sensitive screen rather than one with a multitude of buttons, most of which have obscure functions I can’t remember. Touchscreens are very popular on smartphones and would enable desktop devices to do a lot more without adding to their bulk.

A more flexible touchscreen interface would be especially useful on a unified communications system to, for example, display calling directories and select who you want to talk to, even incorporate video with voice and other UC functionality. Perhaps that’s why Cisco and Avaya have both launched tablet-based devices recently – aha, the penny just dropped!