Ericsson had designed its first speakerphone in the 1930s, it was in 1959 that the company made a major breakthrough with the development of the Ericovox, according to the website EricssonHistory.com. Until then, speakerphones experienced problems with ambient noise and echoes. The pyramid-shaped Ericovox featured an amplification system that addressed the background noise problems by automatically amplifying the audio in the direction of the speaker, decreasing it in other directions. The Ericovox did not have a handset or a ringer, but could be connected with a telephone, such as the Ericofon. 9http://www.ehow.com/info_12141155_ericsson-phones-1950s.html) Grey plastic loud speaking telephone with dial, three buttons, and a plug to connect to the telephone system. The phone is an Ericovox 1/DBe1225/1 A18 7516telephone, ericovox