Global Village Comes in
Swinging With Low-Price
56-kbps Modems
by Glenn McDonald, PC World
April 14, 1997
Global Village, long a major player in the Macintosh modem market,
announced today two new 56-kbps modems for Windows based on U.S.
Robotics x2 technology.
It's the latest in a string of announcements by modem vendors supporting
either the USR x2 or the similar K56flex technology from Rockwell. The
two chip sets are incompatible, meaning that any Rockwell modem talking
to a USR modem will connect at only 33.6 kbps.
Although many Internet service providers and online services, including
AOL, support both chip sets, the lack of standardization is a continuing
headache for consumers.
The new TelePort 56 modems are available as an internal ISA card as well
as an external serial-port modem. The anticipated retail price is around
$160--roughly $30 to $50 cheaper than comparable USR models,
according to posted prices on the CompUSA Web site.
An important consideration for anyone buying a 56-kbps modem is
upgradability. As newer and better features are developed, you want to be
sure your modem can be easily upgraded by software.
Charlie Oppenheimer, vice president of Global Village's product group,
said the TelePort products use the latest software-upgradable x2
technology.
"We believe there are going to be other functions and features with these
modems over time," Oppenheimer said. "So the entire feature set is
upgradable via flash ROM."
Flash ROM can be upgraded online or by disk, meaning you won't have to
replace any hardware for a new upgrade. Most 56-kbps modem vendors
offer software-upgradable modems.
The TelePort units, however, will offer 4MB of flash ROM as opposed to
the typical 2MB offered by other vendors, Oppenheimer said.
The TelePort units also include FaxWorks software, an integrated fax and
data application that lets you fax from any application, schedule faxes for
immediate or future delivery, and send broadcast faxes. Global Village
modems come standard with a five-year repair and replace warranty.
Oppenheimer said Global Village supports the x2 standard because USR
has a good market presence in these early days of 56-kbps modem
technology.
"We have a relationship with a large number of companies--we have a
relationship with Rockwell," Oppenheimer said. "But in the early days, we
believe there will be more x2 ports out there than K56flex. So in the short
term there will be more volume with the x2."
Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba, IBM, Compaq, and AST support K56flex
technology, which is backed by most of the rest of the modem industry. X2
is supported by Packard Bell NEC, Dell, Hitachi, and Acer. |
