The 1989 Norstar Meridian NT8B50 field trial telephone was an early development set associated with the development of the Meridian M7900 Touchphone. Rather than relying entirely on conventional buttons, it used a touch sensitive screen to control functions and display indicators.

This example was donated by a former Nortel employee who worked in the Design Interpretive group under John Tyson. The donor was involved in product definition and user interface design, providing a direct connection to the team responsible for developing this unusual telephone.

Received on January 18, 2024, the telephone is documented through photographs showing its original condition and subsequent operation. It is also connected to a Norstar 616 system, allowing the field trial set to be demonstrated in working condition.

As received January 18th 2024.

Added a KSU Norstar 616 non DS and running DR5 software, plus a ATA NT8B90CA.

The screen saver automatically powers down after a period of inactivity.

Another Meridian M7900 has surfaced, Tim Griffin,
a fellow collector, recently contacted me to share that he owns one.
He provided images of his Black M7900 Touchphone.

The Norstar Meridian SL-100 M3000 Touchphone is the successor to the Meridian M7900.

https://www.oldtelephoneroom.ca/norstar-meridian-sl-100-m3000-touchphone/