Hello,
Thank you for your interest in Alcatel's Webtouch.
Alcatel is proud to have entered you in our mailing list and will send
you a brief email in fall 99 to inform you about product availability.
The Alcatel Webtouch allows user's to quickly access the
Internet from their home, with the touch of one button. All of the
information you need is available at one touch, such as weather, sports,
travel, movies, and more. You can write, send and receive email, and
enjoy a wide range of advanced telephony features such as Caller ID, and
Caller ID with Call Waiting*. You can also organize your phone numbers,
email addresses, and favorite web sites, in one directory. It's all made
easy by the extra-large color touch screen, which displays a selection
of user friendly icons to point you in the right direction.
Q: What about product availability and a commercial launch?
A: Our commercial launch in the US and Europe is planned for fall 1999.
We will extend our distribution in 2000 to Asia and other countries.
Q: Where can I buy a Webtouch?
A: Through retails and online. Telecom operators will most likely favor
their own distribution channels while ISPs may select to work with
retail channels.
Q: What is the Price?
A: We anticipate an introductory price of less than $400. The final
price will depend on the business model, country acceptance, partners
strategy and services that are bundled with the terminal.
Q: What is the speed of the modem ?
A: 33.6 Kbps for the product launch. Future product plans are to
integrate a 56 kbps modem and DSL technologies.
Q: Which ISP will bundle its services with the Internet screenphone?
A: It will depend on our discussions going on with key players in the
US. Technically, Web access can be provided by any ISP.
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Potential partners and retailers only :
At this time, we are working with several major industry players to
discuss our distribution strategy. We would like to continue
communicating with you, so we have added you to our partner mailing
list.
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Developers only :
Alcatel is proud to have entered you in our « Developers mailing list».
The Alcatel Webtouch is one of those unique business opportunities that
presents itself periodically. Application developers, service providers,
content providers, Telcos and ISPs all have a chance to take advantage
of the next generation of Internet access devices. We believe that the
Internet screenphone is an excellent business opportunity for software
developers and ISVs. The first round of selection is over and we have
decided to work with mainly ISP&Telcos acquainted software developers
since our current business interest is to bundle our product with these
partners.
Our next step is to develop a parralel library of applications, seeking
support from any developers; Application developers and Independent
Software Vendors (ISVs) will be encouraged to develop applications to
enhance the value of the Alcatel Internet screenphone to the end user.
Registration details will be provided by end Q2 99 and an SDK will be
available for Q3 99.
There is an opportunity to develop a vast variety of applications to
enrich the basic Alcatel offering. Typical applications could relate to
online banking, on-line trading, e-commerce, bill payment, time
management, games and more. The Internet screenphone uses Java OS for
consumer devices. Prospective software developers should therefore be
proficient in this language.
In some cases, we may put the developers in contact with our partners to
have their applications integrated in their portals. We are very
interested in keeping you informed on our product, so we will add you to
our mailing list.
Alcatel's Internet Screephone is a customized implementation of a full
suite of Java technologies based on JavaOS(TM) for Consumers(TM). The
product provides complete support for the PersonalJava(TM) API as well
as an integrated Java(TM) browser with support for the JavaScript
technology.
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About Alcatel
A world leader in telecommunications systems and equipment, as well as
related cables and components activities, Alcatel operates in over 130
countries. Alcatel provides complete solutions and services to
operators, service providers, enterprises and consumers, ranging from
backbone networks to user terminals (telephones). For further
information, please visit Alcatel on Internet : www.alcatel.com
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