the time of divestiture. Character phones, such as the Mickey Mouse phone, were made in China using the Trimline handset, rather than just the receiver with dial in the base. These phones were still sold as a part of the Design Line series. Post-divestiture models In 1985, AT&T Technologies redesigned its consumer telephone products to be cheaper to build and be more competitive in the marketplace by adding electronic ringers and a redial function. In 1986, they moved telephone production out of the United States. After this time several new Design Line series telephones were marketed and discontinued. One example of a "Design Line" phone was model 140, marketed in the mid 90s. The phone was similar in size to the 2554 wall phone, but had unique features: Round buttons Round receiver/microphone Switchhook similar in shape to a slice of pie Desk or wall use The phone also required a handset cord which had a long straight section as the connector to the base was located on the bottom of the phone, and not facing outward on the side. In 2000, Lucent Technologies spun off its consumer telephone division, resulting in the Design Line being redesigned. The basic design was retained, except that the handset was more rectangular in shape, and an "AT&T" badge was placed on the outside of the handset. The phone also replaced the traditional 100 series (the 2500 and 2554 telephones) for consumer use, as Lucent kept the phones because of their high demand for business use after spinning off its consumer division. Gallery See also Bell System Practices References External links Western Electric Design Line Telephones Western Electric Telephone Models Western Electric telephones