Which is better looking?

[DarrenWGaransi]

I can't quite decide; sometimes I think the British GPO 746 has some really nice touches then I compare it to its inspiration, the American WE 500 which appears to have better angles.

Any thoughts?  I like them both.

[twocvbloke]

Well, I think the GPO706 was the result of the inspiration from the 500, aswell as a few other designs, the 746 was a later refinement...

Personally I like the 500 more, cos it's "unfamiliar", the GPO phones were so common here in the UK, as the 500 was in the US & Canada, that they just faded into the background, until they were being replaced with more modern phones and suddenly people wanted them for retro décor...

I only have 2x 746 phones, one is just an ivory parts phone (damaged case & handset, looks like it had gotten wet inside, partially works, but in that colour they're 10 a penny), the other's my 2-tone green one with the early sloping cradle design (caused problems with not hanging up properly and holding the line open), I like the green one, but I want to find a couple of 706 phones to play with...

[Tom B]

I like both the 706 and the 500 phones. I agree with twocvbloke's comment about the unfamiliarity of the 500 for UK members and that we took the 706/746 models for granted until they had more or less gone away. I've said it before - after a certain age the nostalgia gene kicks in and the sound of brass bells ringing in the hallway becomes a thing of worth...

[dsk]

I want to bring in the W.E 5302.
The shorter base makes it more equal to the 706/746.

Its great phones, I like the balance in the 500 better, and the plastic in W.E. telephones are having a "less plastic" look. Than the UK telephones.

The length of the handset is another difference. The American handsets are generally shorter than the European. Look s nicer, but I'm not sure of its working better.

I'm not sure, and I may change, but just no my vote goes to the 500.

dsk

[twocvbloke]

I wouldn't mind having a 5302 myself too, with the G-type handset cos I quite like the feel of that one...

A friend of mine compares the 500 and the 746 as the latter being "a hot girl's fat sister", I can see where he's coming from, but the 746 phones I have are smaller and lighter, though the handsets are longer... 

[nikeajax]

So... does the AE-80 fall right in between the two?  Might be fun to make some kind of animation where the three of them morph in and out of each other...

Jaybird

[gpo706]

The GPO 700's are durable enough machines but compared to my bog-standard beat up black 500 - (all the way from Michigan), they're lightweights!

No wonder the 500's were in production for so long.

You can't whack a 500.

Well you can, you can whack it off the wall, down the stairs, plug it in and it will still go....

[twocvbloke]

you can whack it off the wall, down the stairs, plug it in and it will still go....

Some can even survive trial by fire too from what I've heard, though the rotary models could only receive...

I wouldn't want to willingly subject a phone to fire though, unless it was a chinese clone.....

[twocvbloke]

I'm sure I'll get a couple of 706s to play with, just not at the moment cos money's tighter than a duck's posterior...

[LM Ericsson]

I vote for the GPO 706 and 746's. I like the long handsets and the style of these telephones.