Several DNIC & IP Sets Discontinued

[MitelInMyBlood]

In other news..
I see today Mitel has announced they are discontinuing several 4000-series DNIC instruments as well as several 5200-series IP sets.

DNIC sets on the chopping block are the 4001, 4015, 4150

IP sets on the chopping block are the 5207, 5215, 5220, 5240

Effective date is Jan 31, 2006 or until current supplies are exhausted.

There was also a trade-in/trade-up deal announced for customers with 3100s who would like to move up to a 200CX

 

[tilf]

Seems a little unfair this, although the DNIC sets may be fairly old the 5200 series handsets are relativley new, particularly the dual mode. we have customers who will expect these sets at new sites being rolled out over the next 2 years! Mitel made no mention of the fact that they were due for retirement when the customer told them of their requirements. Although the 5207, 5215 and 5240 are not good sets, the 5220 is an excellent set and should remain, what do you guys think?

 

[MitelInMyBlood]

They just announced two new IP sets which will serve adequately as replacements (I think anyway)

5212: Dual port, dual mode, HALF Duplex handsfree and 12 line keys (11 programmable plus 1 prime)

5224: Dual port, dual mode, FULL Duplex handsfree and 24 line keys (23 programmable + 1 prime)

Both support MiNet and SIP (default is MiNet)

From the monochrome photos looks like either one will be a satisfactory replacement for the 5220.
Best way to describe the appearance of the 5224 is to call it a blend between the 5207 and 5220 w/a few more keys.
Both are somewhat similar in appearance to the 5215/5220 tho they have changed the geometry around on the hard keys (Volume, Superkey, Hold, etc) and the 5224 has 10 more line keys than the old 5220, also I heard something about white LEDs or a white display - I'll reserve comment on that till I see one ;-)
What would be nice is a return to the 4000-series hand piece

I also have not seen pricing yet but supposedly the new sets will be avail in December, at least thats the story I heard.

As for the DNIC sets, Mitel is simply M/D'ing the ones that aren't selling (like they got rid of all the light grey sets earlier).
They are keeping the 4025 Dark set for the time being.

 

[mitelman]

The biggest issue I see here is the fact that if they are discontinuing almost all of the dnic sets how long will it be before all dnic systems disappear like the 2K and 200ml/el? To me it seems a bit earlier to stop production of sets that make up the majority of the systems you have out there. I think it is kind of risky. I'm all for IP but a lot of people aren't ready yet.

 

[glennmitel]

does anyone know if mitel have started reshipping the 5235.
as we have been told by westcon that ALL 5235s should have been recalled.

and also does anyone have any pictures of the new Mitel handsets


thanks

 

[MitelInMyBlood]

I tend to agree that discontinuing all but one model of DNIC set seems a little premature.

VOIP may well be the wave of the future but until you can replace the main control redundancy of the 2K, (and or DC-powered) you don't have a platform you can safely sell into a hospital or other public safety environment.
Resiliency is all well and good, but external calls to & from the legacy TDM network are lost if/when one of the controllers bites the dust.
Resiliency requires duplicating your external trunks to the real world if you're planning on still being able to place calls.

Shucks, maybe sales of the legacy 2K are dead, but if so why have they come up with new periph cabinets and new line cards?
Maybe Mitel is going to come out with a new line of TDM sets for a new-era SX2K.

 

[tilf]

Apparently V7 will have resiliency for E1/T1 Links, this will be available supposedly early next year.

 

[mitelman]

The 5235's have resumed shipping. I installed 106 of them last week, after sending the defectives ones back. Thankfully before I unpacked them!

 

[TheMitelGuy]

I received a 5235 last week. They are shipping.

I have also had a 5212 and 5224 on my desktop for the last 4 months. I have to say, I agree with the people here on the 5220d. It was a good seller, looked good, right number of keys, and didn't have anything wrong with it (other then the handset issues). Ihe 5224 has WAY too many buttons, and I don't care for the new ICON keys. Give me english!

The new displays are light blue. I don't like the new displays. I liked organge, and so too did MOST of Mitel's customers. A new feature that you people will hate is the "auto dim." Not user configurable, the phone display goes down to 20% power after 20 seconds of inactivity. You have to press a key or lift the handset to see the display. Not good, and I think is only time before the design team makes it either a COS feature or changes it back. You will get customer complaints.

I always liked the 5240, over priced, but a nice set.

The 4025 will be manufacture I believe until '07 (don't quote me). Discontinuing the 4000 series (again minus 4025) will cause more new commers to move directly into IP, as too a TDM/IP split.

 

[MitelInMyBlood]

Only my two cents worth (as usual).
I liked the 5140 over the 5240 because of the large handset.
I like the Cisco phones for the same reason, large handset.
I hate the Cisco phones for inconvenience; ie try transferring or conferencing, you'll appreciate Mitel.
The auto-dim feature of the 5235 is useful in areas of subdued lighting, ie a teleworker set at home.
You're right, the auto-dim feature on the 5212/5224 will be disliked especially if it occurs after 20 secs of inactivity.
That feature absolutely needs to be a COS option.
With all those keys it's as if it the 5224 is targeted more toward the admin where the keys would be useful as line appearances.
Icons only on the hard keys? please say you're joking.
My God have you seen the Cisco phones? Max of 6 line keys unless you add a big adjunct which then adds only 14 more, true you can add a 2nd one for an additional 14 but then the phone is the size of a freakin' concert grand piano, bigger than a 62-button 5220 w/PKM-48.
I believe Mitel is going to hear lots of grumbling about disco'ing the 5220D; IMO its the most popular IP set they've got (or have had).
If disco'ing the 4025 in 2K7 suggests the buglers are tuning up to play Tapps over the whole 2K platform what then is the plan for hospital/public safety installations where the redund MC has been more or less derigueur?
The redundant 2K may be getting long in the tooth but the damn thing has been stable as Jesus since the big black box days and M-stream; hard to sell MA contracts on it because its like the damn Energizer bunny
Not sure I'd advocate fixing that which ain't broke unless I had something better.
Not sure we're quite there yet with "better".

 

[tilf]

there are some new handsets in the pipeline which look more like the latest Avaya type, with a large display where the buttons are labelled, a bit like the 5240 but much more mainstream. Customers do like the latest Avaya ones so Mitel may well be onto a winner eith that one.

Still should keep the 5220 though!!!!!!!!

 

[jneiberger]

I saw the 5224 at VoiceCon and I thought it looked pretty cool. I liked the color of the display and I do prefer it to the orange. I also prefer the 5140 to the 5240 because of the larger handset and the green display, which seems sharper and clearer than the orange display.

I also got to play around with the 5235 recently. I will agree that we need text buttons, not icon buttons. I'm not a Mitel customer so I'm not used to the phones and it wasn't immediately clear to me which buttons did what. Icons are fine if it's perfectly clear what they do. Otherwise, text is better.