Hereunder I tried to construct a timeline on the Ericofons history. Not sure if it is all complete but do not hesitate to send me any additional information or corrections.
| Era | Year | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1940 | First design and patent investigations started in the early 1940's. | |
| 1950 | 1953 | September 4th 1953 the first prototype was made. |
| 1954 | Serial production for institutions only. | |
| 1956 | Serial production for the open market in USA (Australia) and Europe. 18 colors were offered in the USA through North Electric. Other countries offered 5 colors. | |
| 1958 | Introduction of the Ericotone which increased popularity. | |
| 1960 | 1960 | Design change to a smaller "new case" model. |
| 1961 | North Electric produces 100% for US market and 18 colors was reduced to 8 colors. | |
| 1963 | Commercial introduction in Australia. | |
| 1965 | Introduction in Malaysia. | |
| 1967 | TouchTones were introduced by North Electric in the US. | |
| 1968 | Introduction in Singapore. | |
| 1970 | 1972 | Production of Touchtones stopped (7000 produced) and North Electric sells Ericofon production in the USA to CEAC. |
| 1976 | 700 goes into production in Europe celebrating Ericsson's 100th anniversary. It is assumed that ~300 specials were made for the festivities. | |
| 1979 | Introduction in The Netherlands with 3 colors. | |
| 1980 | 1982 | Production of rotary models stopped. 2.510.000 produced |
| 1984 | Production of 700 model stopped. 30.000 produced | |
| 2010 | 2013 | Started my collection |
| 2014 | Birth of www.ericofon.nl |
It is hard to tell when the earpiece was exactly changed on the new case shell. In my collection I have a flat earpiece from 1971 and a wedge earpiece from 1964. This would imply an overlap of at least 7 years.