June 17, 1996
VocalTec Ships Internet Phone Release 4 With Business
Phone And
Collaborative Computingfeatures For Corporate Intranet
Deployment
Major Upgrade to Market-Leading Software Lets Users Share Documents,
Exchange Files and Converse with Superior Audio Quality
HERZLIYA, ISRAEL, June 17 /PRNewswire/ -- VocalTec(TM) Ltd. (Nasdaq: VOCLF),
the Internet Phone Company(TM), today announced shipment of Internet
Phone(TM) Release 4 for Windows 95 PCs, a major upgrade to the industry's most
popular open standards Internet voice communications software. Representing a
step forward in the convergence of telephone and computer network systems,
Internet Phone Release 4 combines the convenience of full-featured business
phone systems with the multimedia computing power of desktop PCs.
With street prices under $50, Internet Phone Release 4 delivers numerous new
audio, data, text and collaborative computing features. In addition to existing
Internet firewall support, new capabilities include live whiteboarding/document
conferencing, direct point-to-point calling, point-and-click file transfer, voice mail,
call hold, caller ID, call waiting, call screening and blocking, muting, text chat and
instant access to VocalTec's innovative Global OnLine Directory (GOLD) for easily
locating other Internet and intranet callers in public and private chat rooms.
Internet Phone Release 4 features upgradeability for videoconferencing,
Perceptual VOX(TM) voice activiation technology for natural hands-free
operation, and significantly improved audio quality using VocalTec's proprietary
VTSound algorithm. Internet Phone's open architecture is designed to support
multiple data compression and Internet telephony standards as they become
available for maximum compatibility. Internet Phone Release 4 also is part of
VocalTec's PC-Macintosh, cross-platform Internet voice communications solution,
with the shipment announced today of Internet Phone for the Apple Mac OS(TM)
(see separate announcement).
"Just as the first release of Internet Phone opened a new market for Internet
voice communications for the individual PC user, Internet Phone Release 4 is
designed to make Intranet telephony and collaborative communications an
integral part of networked business communications," said Dr. Elon Ganor,
chairman and CEO of VocalTec. "Internet Phone Release 4 is the next generation
in Internet telephony because it goes beyond the concept of simple Internet
voice communications -- delivering worldwide multimedia and collaborative
communications capabilities to the business and home computer."
For example, using Internet Phone Release 4 a corporate intranet user could call
a colleague through their company's private chat room, display a shared
document via the whiteboard, paste information into the document from a Web
page, a word processing document and graphics from the toolbar, suggest
revisions before incorporating them via the text chat window, put the call on hold
to get input from another colleague, resume the first call, send a voice mail
message to another worker about the project status, make the final changes to
the document, then transfer the file to the other user, all while discussing the
process verbally.
MULTIPLE NEW FEATURES
Internet Phone Release 4 features include:
-- Voice mail: Voice mail enables users to record and send messages to callers
when they are away from their computers or off-line. Recipients can either be
other Internet Phone Release 4 users or users of VocalTec's Internet Phone
Voice Mail Player available for free downloading;
-- Whiteboarding/document conferencing: This powerful collaboration tools
enable users to talk about a document while viewing and revising it
simultaneously. Documents may be word processor or other files, cut and pasted
from other applications, or produced with whiteboard drawing tools;
-- File transfer: The point-and-click file transfer window lets users select and
exchange files easily and quickly during a call;
-- Open Standards Architecture: Internet Phone Release 4's open architecture
assures maximum compatibility with other standards-based products. The
program supports the TrueSpeech, GSM and VocalTec's own data compression
algorithms and selects the optimal method depending on the call. In addition,
VocalTec is committed to support both Netscape's LiveMedia and Microsoft's
ActiveX Internet audio/video standards;
-- Global OnLine Directory (GOLD) access: A VocalTec exclusive, GOLD lets users
find other callers at random, in special interest groups or in private conference
areas available only to other callers with knowledge of the group, such as
co-workers, friends or family members;
-- Direct calling: Direct calling lets users easily locate other Internet Phone users
via email addresses, Internet Phone addresses or IP addresses. Users even can
make direct connections when they are not online to Internet Phone servers or if
they have dynamic, or changing, IP addresses;
-- Drag-and-Drop Calls: For frequently called locations, users can create desktop
icons by dragging address entries from the address window to the desktop. Calls
can be placed to those locations simply by clicking on the icons;
-- Call management features: These features provide the convenience of business
phone systems with call hold, call waiting for alternating between two calls,
speaker and microphone muting for privacy, call blocking to reject incoming
calls, caller ID to obtain name and contact information on incoming calls, call
screening for deciding whether to accept any incoming call, and directory
assistance for locating previous or new callers;
-- Perceptual VOX(TM) automatic voice activation: Using VocalTec's new
Perceptual VOX technology, the Voice Activation option enables simple,
hands-free operation and improved audio performance;
-- A new and improved user interface: The new interface is intuitive and
consistent between PC and Mac versions. It features an animated assistant that
alerts users to incoming calls and interactively illustrates the status of each call.
The assistant window can be used for future videoconferencing capabilities;
-- Text chat: The text chat window adds flexibility for private two- way text
communications;
-- Cross-Platform voice compatibility: Cross-platform compatibility is a first in the
market and enables voice calling between PCs and Macs running Internet Phone;
-- Full-duplex operation: Full-duplex operation means two-way conversations
between Internet Phone users. Half-duplex operation is supported for
compatibility with early versions of Internet Phone; and
-- Bandwidth Efficiency: Internet Phone is efficient in it use of available bandwidth
so it can deliver a multiplicity of features over dial-up connections.
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
Internet Phone Release 4 has an expected street price of $49.95. It is available
immediately at the VocalTec web site and at major computer software and other
retailers across the United States. Versions in other languages also will be
available later this year. Upgrades from previous versions to Internet Phone
Release 4 will be $29.95. Those who purchase a different version of Internet
Phone within 30 days of Release 4 shipment receive the upgrade for free. The
videoconferencing upgrade for Internet Phone Release 4 will be available later
this year at no cost to registered Release 4 users who purchase the product by
August 31. A free demo of Internet Phone Release 4 is available at VocalTec's
web site.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Internet Phone Release 4 requires a 486 66Mhz computer with 8 megabytes of
RAM (12 recommended), running Windows 95 with a 32-bit Winsock 1.1
compatible Internet TCP/IP, SLIP or PPP connection at 14.4 Kbps or greater. A
Windows-compatible sound card, microphone and speaker also are required. A
full-duplex sound card is required for full-duplex operation.
VocalTec Ltd. is a leading provider of software that enables voice and audio
communications over the Internet. Internet Phone, the company's award-winning
core product, was released in February 1995 and enables two users connected
to the Internet to conduct real-time, two- way, full-duplex voice conversations
using their personal computers. With Internet Phone, users can conduct
unlimited long-distance and international conversations for the cost of an
Internet connection.
Based in Herzliya, Israel, VocalTec's North American subsidiary is located at 35
Industrial Parkway, Northvale, NJ, 07647. For more information on the VocalTec
product line, call 201/768-9400, fax 201/768-8893, vocaltec.com on
the World Wide Web, or e-mail to info@vocaltec.com.
NOTE: VocalTec, Internet Phone [VTSound, Perceptual VOX????]and Internet
Phone Company are trademarks of VocalTec, Inc. Other trademarks are the
property of their respective holders.
In conjunction with the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the
Company wishes to avail itself of the stated "safe harbor" provisions and to
caution readers that certain of the statements contained herein are
forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those
projected as a result of various factors set forth in the Company's prospectus for
its initial public offering as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
11:02 EDT
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