Executive desk phones anyone?

[Adrian Graham]

Hi folks,

I happened upon a rare beast last weekend and it finally dropped into my
hands yesterday. Most folk know about the ICL One-Per-Desk which was
essentially a Sinclair QL with re-engineered microdrives and sold massively
well here in the UK (British Telecom rebranded it as the BT Merlin) and
Australia (Computerphone) and I think it made it to the US too?

People don't seem to know about its predecessor, me included. STC (Standard
Telephone & Cable) had this designed in the late 70s but it didn't make it
to market until 1984 - the STC Executel 3010. It's an AMD8085A powered desk
phone with 5" monitor that could store your phone entries, diary
appointments, autodial and connect to Viewdata services - PRESTEL in the UK.

It was expensive and didn't sell, some googling seems to show that there are
only maybe half a dozen in existence with 4 of them in the Cambridge area,
apt since it was designed by PA Consulting who amongst other things
redesigned the Tandy Coco for the UK and marketed it as the Dragon32.

What's interesting from a US standpoint is that it apparently DID make it
over the pond and was sold as the 'Buckingham' so the question is, anyone
heard of it?

http://www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk/STCExecutel01.jpg

-- 
Adrian/Witchy
Binary Dinosaurs creator/curator
Www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk - the UK's biggest private home computer
collection?