• Oisteink@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      A normal phone was split in two and the dial was on the main unit while the handset was cord attached and «with you», not on the desk

      • charokol@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Right. But would you want to keep the dial with you? After you’ve started the call on a rotary phone, there’s no more dialing necessary

        • mercano@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          Perhaps you move the phone to the coffee table before you get comfy on the sofa, or you want to hang up and make a second call.

        • And if you needed to dial while on the phone, then you would probably prefer it to be separate so you can see what you are dialing while still talking. I guess it means you wouldn’t have to keep the base in an easily usable spot though.

          • TrackinDaKraken@lemmy.world
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            3 days ago

            At the time these were designed, dialing while on the phone, say to interface with a computer system, didn’t exist.