Lill-Babs and the Ericofon 1964

Lill-Babs and the Ericofon 1964

1964 was an active year for Barbro "Lill-Babs" Svensson, one of Sweden's most beloved artists. This year she released the single "Wow Wow Wee / Hand Auf's Herz, Mon Ami" in Germany, which marked her continued international career, especially in West Germany where she had already established herself. She also appeared in radio interviews, including with Stig Enbom during a vacation in Järvsö, where she discussed her summer performances.
Lill-Babs was by this time a national icon, known for her charm, versatility and popular appeal. Her appearances in folk parks and on TV, along with hits such as "Är du kär i mej ännu Klas-Göran?" (1959), had made her one of Sweden's most beloved artists.

The Ericofon – The story of an iconic design classic

The Ericofon, popularly known as the Cobra Phone due to its snake-like shape, is one of the most iconic telephone models of the 20th century. Launched by LM Ericsson in 1956, it revolutionized telecommunications by combining form and function in a groundbreaking one-piece design. Its history and significance span decades, reflecting both technological innovation and aesthetic development.

Work on the Ericofon began in the early 1940s, when industrial designer Ralph Lysell, employed by Ericsson in 1939, presented a proposal for a one-piece telephone in which the handset and the device were integrated. The inspiration came partly from the knowledge that the German Siemens AG was working on a similar "all-in-one" telephone, although their model never reached series production. The development of the Ericofon was delayed by World War II, and it was not until the early 1950s that prototypes began to take shape under the leadership of Gösta Thames, head of Ericsson's device engineering group. Thames gave the telephone its final, streamlined design, and in 1956 series production began in Karlskrona.

The phone was originally planned to be called Erifon (derived from "Ericsson" and the Greek fon , sound), but the name was already registered as a trademark for impregnation. Ericsson added "co" (from company ), and the name Ericofon was born . The official designation was Ericofon DBJ 500, but the nickname "Kobra" or "Cobra" quickly became popular due to the phone's characteristic shape, which resembled a cobra ready to strike.

The Ericofon was an immediate success. Within six months of its launch, orders exceeded production capacity by 500 percent. The phone was manufactured in 2,510,000 units until 1982, of which about 20 percent were sold in Sweden and the rest were exported, especially to the United States where it was manufactured under license by the North Electric Company. It was offered in up to 18 different colors on the American market, from classic shades such as red and white to pastel colors such as blue, green and pink, which was a novelty at a time when phones were often monochromatic and functional.

The Ericofon was a pioneer in industrial design. By integrating the microphone, earpiece, dial and switch into a single unit, it was a marked departure from traditional telephones, which consisted of a separate handset and base unit. To make a call, the telephone was turned upside down, as the dial was at the bottom, and when it was turned back up, the line was automatically disconnected via a button in the centre of the dial. The design was not only aesthetically pleasing but also practical, although the lack of a built-in bell meant that it was often used as a side device, with a separate wall-mounted bell as an option.

The phone's shell was initially made of Bakelite, but from 1954 it was replaced by ABS plastic, which made it more durable and allowed for more color variations. Later models, from 1969, introduced keypads instead of finger discs, and in 1976 the Ericofon DBJ 700 was launched, a more angular successor designed by Carl-Arne Breger, which was only manufactured in 41,380 units until 1984.

The Ericofon is not only a technical invention but also a cultural and design-historical milestone. It is considered by many to be the world's first designer telephone, where as much importance was placed on aesthetics as on function. Its presence in the permanent exhibition of the Museum of Modern Arts (MoMA) in New York since 1973, where a white and a yellow prototype are on display, underlines its status as one of the most significant industrial designs of the 20th century. Design historian Arthur J. Pulos has described the Ericofon as a pioneer of a new generation of telephones, where appearance became a central part of the product.

The telephone became a symbol of 1950s Scandinavian design, an era marked by simplicity, functionality and aesthetic innovation. It appeared frequently in popular culture, for example in films such as The Twilight Zone (1960), Casino Royale (1967) and Magnum, PI (1980), reinforcing its iconic status.

The Ericofon's legacy lives on through modern successors like Telia Sonera's Telia Kobra from 2007, designed by Myra Industriell Design, which combines retro aesthetics with modern technology like caller ID and a phone book. Models like the Scandiphone from Wild and Wolf also demonstrate the phone's enduring influence.