New Look For Partner Telephones.

[Dexman]

I saw a listing for the new Avaya Partner Telephones on eBay.

From what I can tell, all buttons and the "Message" LED have been reshaped, the backlit LCD looks like it has wider bands above & below the display and the red "AVAYA" logo is now centered above the LCD.

It's also nice to see a backlit LCD has been added to the 6 button telephone.

I would hazard a guess that the electronics underneath the revised exterior are the same as the current Partner telephones.

It will be interesting to see how people react to the new look.

 

[jlshelton]

The new phones are shown at:

http://www.avaya.com/master-usa/en-us/resource/assets/factsheet/05-013_fs_partnertelephones4.pdf

 

[jlshelton]

Oh - Avaya has dropped Gray; only colors now are Black and Titanium White. I wonder why the name isn't Fade-to-brown White instead.

 

[Dexman]

I often wondered how well the gray colored telephones sold. Black seems to be a "formal" color and white seems more casual.

The tendency to yellow over time is a concern that I have with white telephones. Many of the white Partner & Western Electric telephones found on eBay tend to have yellowing from either direct sunlight or florescent lighting. White also shows dirt more readily than black so it can be a chore keeping a white phone clean.

A quick off the topic thought. I enjoy reading the histories of the Partner and Merlin telephone series that jlshelton has put together. There was a question about why the Avaya Partner Messaging went from R1 to R6 and then R7. My thought was that since upgraded Partner ACS and Partner Messaging are introduced at roughly the same time, Avaya wants to keep the rev level designations the same.

 

[itpphoneguy]

Too bad they dropped the grey. They sell well up here. White only sells for doctors offices and some homes (like mine).
Given the choice, most of my customers choose grey. The white phones always fade to ugly.

-Chris

 

[telprog]

I have sold many grey as well, I think they look the best. Hate to see it go.

Russ

 

[jlshelton]

Check out this old Bell Telephone color chart. Too bad Avaya can't go this far:

http://www.bellsystemmemorial.com/telephones-colorcharts-1.html

 

[Dexman]

It would be interesting to see additional colors made available, but the thought of some of those colors may not go over quite so well.

 

[itpphoneguy]

Well, bring back the grey, add a red for emergency use (or a Bat phone). May as well offer (but not sell) a phone, yellowish that the white ones become.
-Chris

 

[telprog]

Haven't sold many white at all, grey and black are what sells. Don't know why they would stop the grey they made more money on them anyway.

Russ

 

[Dexman]

Assuming that Celestica produces Partner telephones as well as the processors, is it possible that Celestica may have discontinued that particular color.

 

[itpphoneguy]

You mean we're back to yellow - brown system cards again ??
Yech!

-Chris

 

[Dexman]

How about a drab olive/green color for desk sets and circuit cards? Talk about retro!

 

[toolman18]

Couldnt get to the above link. What are they calling these new sets?

 

[Dexman]

http://www.avaya.com/master-usa/en-us/resource/assets/factsheet/05-013_fs_partnertelephones4.pdf

 

[jlshelton]

From the PDF file:

"Overview
Telephones available with the Avaya PARTNER® Advanced Communications System include 6-, 18- and 34-button
display and wireless telephones; and the 48-button Call Assistant (CA48) DSS adjunct for extension monitoring or
one-touch transfer. Providing a selection of telephones gives customers a range of cost-effective options for taking
advantage of the PARTNER system’s comprehensive set of features.
PARTNER® Telephones Capabilities
From the intuitive layout of buttons and display to
the feel of the buttons as you push them, PARTNER
telephones are designed to help everyone work more
efficiently.
PARTNER telephones are available in black or titanium
white in three display models that differ primarily in
the number of programmable feature buttons that are
on the set. These buttons can be preprogrammed for
one-touch access to specific lines, extensions or features
(e.g., do not disturb, voice mail)."

So, they are just called "Partner Telephones.

 

[jlshelton]

Note for the new phones:
The 18D and 34D phones retain 2 x 24 character tiltable display. The new 6D phone has only 2 x 16 character display, and it does not tilt. That means it won't work properly with Call Logs and perhaps some other features. Still, it is an improvement over no display. Apparantly, the non-display phones are also dropped.

At least one vendor (Metroline Direct) is referring to these as "Partner Eurostyle Series 2" phones.

Avaya's photo library *still* doesn't have any photos of these new phones. Not sure where the vendors are getting their photos.

 

[Dexman]

Last week, I saw pictures of the new telephones on eBay. A distributor, not Metroline though, was already selling them. He was selling them for a bit more than the existing models.

 

[itpphoneguy]

Just thought of something. Now we have to stock up on the old sets due to service contracts?? Great! And the customer doesn't see why these contracts cost money. ( we just got rid of the last MLS set)

-Chris

 

[mmico]

I didn't use the gray phones much but they did look good.I hope the green led on the new phones are better. I also think they should have continued the 18 button with no display. I don't think the 6 button will be able to replace the 18 button no displays. I used the 18b as much as I used the 18d. Thanks Avaya