Northern Electric, Nortel's previous name made chrome payphones in the 1950s.

A display screen allowed the user to view the number dialed and switch between two languages, where the operating company has a choice of any combination of English, French, Spanish and Japanese.

The phones 'call home' on a regular basis, uploading CDR records if they are full and reporting coinbox status (down to the amount of coins in a given denomination).

The coin vault lock has a small micro switch that can detect break ins, which will cause the phone to call into the Millennium Manager with an alarm.

A Mondex version of the payphone was also produced, it has a special larger display with navigation keys.

Hackers found these readers could be adapted to a PC and then used to modify stored-value cards for small transactions, allowing them to bypass legitimate payment systems in various devices.

This adaptability made the card readers a frequent target for theft and misuse.