Centrex Features; Language Choice - Toshiba Strata DK Competitive Notes

Toshiba Strata DK & Nortel Norstar Product Comparison
Nortel's Selling Points
Nortel's Selling Points
Every Norstar Telephone Has an LCD
Every Norstar telephone model has an LCD, except the M7100 single line telephone. The
M7208 has eight programmable feature buttons, making it slightly more desirable as a feature
phone. However, its LCD is only a 1 line 16 character display with no soft keys, which
provides much less display information, and is unacceptable to use for feature prompting
compared to the more expensive M7310 and M7324 models. Five Toshiba digital telephone
models are available, with or without a 2 line x 16 character LCD, and a single line digital
telephone is also available.

Centrex Features

The Norstar ICS offers a Centrex feature option to provide easy access to certain Centrex
features. Strata DK systems also provide strong Centrex compatibility through features like
flexible numbering, user programmable feature buttons, flexible flash timing, Centrex ringing
repeat, and delayed ringing, making its operation very efficient in Centrex applications.

Language Choice

The Norstar ICS provides a language choice of English, French, or Spanish on LCD display
information. This is because it is designed by Canadian specifications and Canada is a
bilingual country. Strata systems display information in English only because they were
designed specifically for the U.S. market where foreign language displays are not required.
Auto Day/Night Service Activation
The Norstar ICS has auto day/night service activation to automatically switch the system
between day and night modes by time of day. Strata DK systems must be switched manually
between day and night modes, unless the Toshiba Ultimate Communicator™ or PC Attendant
Console is in use to provide this feature. The Strata DK provides night ringing over external
page and night ringing over external page zones, which the Norstar lacks.
Dial Backspace Erase
The Norstar provides the ability to backspace while dialing a number, if an incorrect digit is
noticed by the user before completing the number. This saves the time of redialing the digits,
assuming the user is watching the LCD while dialing to detect the error.
Voice Mail Soft Key Prompting
The Norstar ICS, when used with the Norstar voice mail system, provides LCD prompting and
soft key operation of voice mail features. However, this feature is only available on the two
more expensive M7310 and M7324 models, and not on the more commonly used M7208
telephone. Therefore, it has limited application in most Norstar configurations. Also, voice
mail users typically find the use of keypad commands of frequently used features faster than
LCD soft key choices. Strata DK systems do not provide voice mail soft key prompting as a
standard feature, but can provide similar functionality using the Toshiba Ultimate
Communicator.
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Strata DK 12/99