I have attended quite a few conferences in the past six months, and one recurring topic of conversation is: When will the desk phone die? The question is prompted by the fact that both the Mobile phone and the softphone offer significantly more capability. Nonetheless, desktop phones aren’t dead yet, nor even show signs of disappearing.
Telephones are getting less expensive, and tend to last a long time with relatively minor recurring TCO. Some manufacturers are seeing telephone sales increase--Mitel, for example, indicated that a recent quarter was its best ever for telephone set sales.
The reason the conversation keeps recurring is because no one likes the available choices. The most powerful mobile devices become bricks without frequent and near-constant power. They also are known to disappear or hide when needed, and every office seems to have dark spots where they fail. Softphones, on desktop computers, have a nasty habit of logging/turning-off. Softphones are also generally paired with headsets, and people don’t like to share headsets (as if handsets are germ free). Meanwhile, desktop phones are stuck in the past--a time traveler from 1950 would have no problem operating today's phones (well, at least as intuitively as we work them). We need a new choice--a modern desk phone.
While the desk phone has come a long way in its construction and technology, our expectations of what our desk phone can do remain largely unchanged. Of course, there are some exceptions--video phones, conference saucers, and other specialized devices--but for the most part, we just don't expect much from our desk phones. The desk phone is used to make/receive calls, pretty simple--stepping beyond redial, speaker, and hold is begging for trouble. "I will try to transfer you, but I might lose you" is an expression frequently uttered by people quite capable in a broad array of other tasks. So common that our response is typically one of sympathy rather than outrage.
It is time to re-invent the desk phone. It's long overdue for a major refresh. Here are some suggestions of what needs to be included in the redesign:
Buttons: Gone. I will give credit to Steve Jobs here, but buttons are clunky. They had their time, but just don't make sense any more. Capacitive touch screens are not only more elegant, but enable context-based options--for example, "hold" should only be an option during an in-call state. Also, as most current phones are sticking a large screen on top of a set of keys, desk phones are getting too darn big. In the past, more buttons meant a fancier phone. Some vendors even describe their models by button count. Buttons are for suckers; time to reverse the logic: the fewer the buttons the fancier the phone.
Intuitive Soft Buttons: Despite what I just said above, it would seem that buttons must be very expensive as manufacturers were careful not to provide more than necessary. My little pocket size mobile has a far more functional keyboard than my toaster sized desktop phone.How about a backspace key? How about separate keys for each letter of the alphabet? I also think some basic punctuation (.,[email protected]!$#%&*()) would be nice, just in case we ever use our desk phones for short messaging--all right, a full case-capable keyboard is necessary (on a soft screen). Some basic phone-specific buttons would be nice too such as 911, page, intercom, volume, address book, and calculator (anything with a number pad should be basic calculator). Although, I still don't understand why computer keyboards don't have keys for "save" or "print".
Handset Cord: Gone. Nothing says "I'm a relic from the past" more than a curly cord. All handsets should be wireless by default--DECT, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, I don't care. This will also make wireless headsets less expensive (no base unit) and more popular.
Easy Jack Access: I am so frustrated with phones that put the jacks in places that can't be reached. Antique phones didn't have quick-disconnects, the cords were hard wired into the phones and unfortunately the progress promised by the RJ-9 jack was covered by the base stand. Unplugging a cord on some phones is a near surgical procedure. I will also mention that the notion of a stripped-down USB phone has merit; a USB phone plays the physical part of a phone in a softphone environment. I didn't get it at first, but they are less expensive and fill an interesting gap. I would like to see more.
EHS: Electronic Hook Switch allows a handset/headset to answer or hang-up a phone remotely. I hope to never see another handset lifter accessory again. Most phones do not have EHS, some do but don't have external jacks for third party devices, and those that do have EHS and a jack all use different types of jacks. This is a great opportunity for a standard.
Cell Friendly: Let's face it, the cell isn't going away (like the desktop phone?) any time soon, so let's embrace it. Why is my car more cell phone friendly than my desk? Desk phones that I've seen that support Bluetooth are typically designed for a BT headset or handset, but why not let the desk set be the handset/headset or speaker for a cell phone? There should also be be a USB port that can be used to charge a mobile phone. The new POE standard (802.3at) has plenty of juice--make the desktop phone a universal charging station. Even better, we need a standard dock connector so that desk phones could actually access the cell's data so we can dial a cell-stored contact. Maybe it's asking too much, but it would also be smart to make desk phone less susceptible to cell phone interference with improved shielding.
Two Hold Buttons: Many of the UC vendors insist we implement conferencing and collaboration tools, but it is a real drag when someone on the call has to grab another call (or tend to the UPS home delivery) and blasts the rest of us with music-on-hold. Old analog systems had hum or click providing on-hold assurance, but perfect silence can be unnerving (callers tend to wonder if they've been disconnected). It isn't uncommon to have to put a conference on hold, and it would be nice if the other parties could continue the conversation without being beaten with reminders regarding the importance of the call. Each phone should have two hold buttons--one with music/audio and one silent.
Apps: Speaking of music, why not use the phone as an IP radio (or iPod player)? The speakers and sound capability in modern phones are actually pretty impressive. Adding a 3.5 mm headset connector for audio-in seems like a no-brainer--it could even mute the audio while in a call. The ability to plug in some apps to a desktop phone makes a lot of sense. I am not convinced that desk phones need to be as robust for apps as smart phones or desktop computers, but improvement is needed. I look to the Chumby as a model; a library of thousands of simple apps for weather, music, social, photos, etc. I find it appalling that most phones can't do simple 4-function math or be set as an alarm clock. Multiple vendors are attempting to create a dev environment, but none really have the widespread dominance to attract large amounts of developers. Working with Chumby, or even Android could solve this problem. Android is an interesting option, but it seems a bit overkill.
Fingerprint scanner: Fingerprint scanners started appearing in mainstream laptop computers about five years ago. One of the problems with putting more apps on the phones is security and privacy--for example, the office desk phone is largely the only phone we regularly use that doesn't have frequent contacts on speed dials. The phone is an ideal screen to display things like a calendar, and having contacts handy seems pretty intuitive as well. Rather than requiring users to login with a keycode, a simple swipe could suffice. It could also be used for traditional applications such as call accounting or even time logging.
More Radios: I see a lot of value in wired phones, but most VoIP phones have no radios, and their smaller smartphone cousin has at least four (GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G/4G). Adding some radios to the VoIP phone offers a number of potential benefits--femtocells, proximity detection (associate presence to a Bluetooth signal from a mobile device), low power Wi-Fi access point, DECT base, Zigbee.... Desktop phones can't be just for talking any more (or they are doomed).
More IP: The phone is an always-on IP device. We talk about convergence in the past tense, but there is so much more yet to do. It's an IP world, and the phone needs to expand to justify itself. A video camera on an IP phone could be useful to detect motion for a security system, or in some situations even directly feed a CCTV system. Each phone could include a temperature sensor for micro-HVAC management.
On the Right Track
There are a few phones that demonstrate glimmers of hope for the desktop phone. Alcatel-Lucent's My IC Phone shares many of the characteristics listed above. At the NEC Advantage conference, a future phone on display used a removeable (third party) Android tablet computer to provide its smarts. The Grandstream GVX-3175 is a near button-less video phone that displays things like Google Calendar and Contacts. Cloud Telecomputers is attempting to build an Android based IP phone (and has been for years). On the Wi-Fi side, Polycom's Spectralink 8400 added both a high-speed scanner and an app capability to a portable phone to extend its usefulness beyond voice.
The cell phone got redefined by an industry outsider--Apple made no cell phone prior to the iPhone. The SIP phone makers strive to not be proprietary, but SIP is too limited to deliver these types of features within the standard. A proprietary vendor may not be able to persuade other vendors to follow suit. For example, Microsoft introduced the notion of a USB phone several years ago, yet it still has not caught on outside Microsoft implementations. An industry consortium could do the trick, but I know of none working to reinvent the desktop phone. It just may take an industry outsider to create the phone the industry needs.
An always-on IP device in the age of IP everything should have some potential, but the desktop phone is in dire need of leadership. Several phone system manufacturers already make their desktop device optional, but there is very little reinvention taking place. Softphones and smartphones are getting notably better each year, but the desktop telephone clings to its past as much as its curly cord clings to itself.
Dave Michels is a frequent contributor and blogs about telecom at www.PinDropSoup.com.
