Steve O'Donnell
201-581-3904 (office)
201-228-6707 (home)

Mike Zeaman
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908-277-1105 (home)

FOR RELEASE WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1993

Classic AT&T Princess phone now available with new technology

PARSIPPANY, N.J. -- AT&T has redesigned the Princess telephone, adding updated technology to the classic design introduced in 1959 and currently featured in a New York City museum exhibition.

The new Princess design retains the compact oval shape, lighted dial and real bell ringer of the classic Princess phone, which originally was described with the theme line "It's little, it's lovely, it lights."

The most significant change to the original design is the addition of a receiver-volume control, conveniently located on the front of the set and designed to boost hard-to-hear higher frequencies as it increases volume, according to Gerry Yorkshire, product manager for the Princess phone.

The new design also includes a ringer-volume control, selectable touch-tone/dial-pulse dialing, and a raised center "locator bar" on the dial pad for easy dialing. With the addition of an optional transformer, this new model's dial will stay lit continuously, for use as a night light.

Cooper-Hewitt, National Museum of Design of the Smithsonian Institution in New York City, features the original Princess phone in its current exhibition, Mechanical Brides: Women and Machines from Home to Office. The exhibit examines mechanical objects designed for use by women in 20th century America, including the telephone, typewriter, washing machine and iron.

Calling most phones "neutral, anonymous objects until the 1950s, when the domestic phone was reconceived as an alluring commodity made to appeal to women," exhibit materials describe the Princess phone as "feminine by name and feminine by design."

The new Princess phone will be available through AT&T's Consumer Lease Services program.

"The redesigned Princess phone is one of AT&T's new Signature series, developed specifically for the lease customer," said Yorkshire. "Signature phones incorporate the best features of some of AT&T's classic telephones that make these older phones popular even today), as well as many newer features customers have come to expect, such as memory dialing, hold and last-number redial."

Speaking about the Signature line in general, Laura Antonucci, manager for the Signature series, said, "We developed this new line specifically to give our customers some attractive new products with added features, without increasing the lease rate. That means better value for our customers."

Customers who lease the Signature Princess phone will enjoy all the benefits of AT&T's lease program, including free, immediate replacement of products for any reason; the convenience of dealing with more than 1,000 AT&T Phone Centers and authorized Services Agencies across the country; the flexibility of having products delivered to their homes, free of shipping or handling charges; and the support of a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week, toll-free assistance number. The new Princess phone will be available in white, ivory, rose pink, peach and aqua.

Customers can call 1-800-555-8111 for the location of the nearest AT&T Phone Center or AT&T-authorized Service Agency, or for more information about leasing the Princess phone.

Princess is a registered trade mark of AT&T.

Copyright © 1998 AT&T. All rights reserved.