Thanks for the post, Sal. I vote for FUD.
Motorola Information Systems Group officials said today that the company will ship 56K-bps modems next week. Internal and external versions of the ModemSurfr and VoiceSurfr models will be available "days after" the March 3 announcement, the officials said.
If they use the same brand of daytimer as USR, that means next June.
Internal ModemSurfrs will cost $159, while external models will be $179. Internal VoiceSurfrs with speakerphone also will cost $179, with external models selling for $199.
What? No upgrades? What about the investment I made in my existing Motorola modem? USR modems owners get free or low-cost upgrades. What gives?
The modems, which are based on Rockwell Semiconductor Systems Inc.'s K56 technology, will not interoperate with U.S. Robotics Corp.'s x2 modems, which began arriving in stores today. And while remote access server equipment compatible with the Rockwell technology hasn't shipped yet, Ascend
Communications Inc. is expected to ship Rockwell-based central site equipment by the end of March, according to sources.
Yeah. Their allotment of the working 100,000 chipsets which nobody has seen, which comes to about 500 modems chipsets. Now that's market penetration. NOT!
Motorola was cautious about guaranteeing an easy upgrade to a 56K standard, although one official said there is a "good chance" the modems will be software upgradable when a standard is set.
Hmmmmm. USRX isn't cautious about guaranteeing easy upgrade to standard.
If a hardware upgrade is necessary, the Mansfield, Mass., company is likely to institute a modem swap program, officials said.
Unless we determine that we can screw those people who were foolish enough to buy our modems.
A buyer protection program called Tidal Wave will provide registered Motorola modem users with information and upgrades when a standard is set. Officials said today the program will be extended to include rebates on Internet service if users subscribe to Epoch Networks, an Internet service provider partner of Motorola. Epoch has dial-up locations at more than 500 sites across the country. The Irvine, Calif., company will have 56K-bps capability in April, and its entire network will be upgraded by June, officials said.
We can't/won't guarantee a easy or cost effective upgrade to standard, and there aren't any server modems to talk to. We can't sell the modems on their own merit, so let's bait 'em with something else.
HERE'S THE KICKER:
Does anyone else find it odd that MOT can deliver K56FLEX modems before either Rockwell or Lucent? It sounds like they are DSP/Flash based. Are these truly K56FLEX ready modems, or simply a v.34 modem that can hopefully be software upgraded to K56FLEX at a later date?
One has to wonder. |
