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Technology Stocks : Nortel Networks (NT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Paul Lee who wrote (3741)	11/10/1999 9:10:00 PM
From: Kenneth E. Phillipps	Respond to of 14638

The Industry Standard: Gadget Review Updated 3:00 PM ET November 10, 1999 news.excite.com SAN FRANCISCO (The Industry Standard) - The Rolodex has come a long way. But from the card-stock-and-plastic desk accessory that you smuggled out of your last job to those hot-synced PDA Outlook files, the value of your contact database is still the same: It's all about who you know. Nortel Networks' Meridian 9617 USB Telephone reduces the number of calories necessary to put that contact database to work by essentially making your PC a personal telephone operator. Pick up the Meridian handset, say, "Call Steve," and the phone sends a signal over the Universal Serial Bus to your PC-where the name you utter is matched with an entry in the Personal Call Manager software. Instantly, the PC sends the appropriate number and dial command back to the telephone -- and within moments you're gabbing. Impressively, no "training" of the Personal Voice Dialer speech-recognition software is necessary. Solid even as a standalone desk phone (with an ash or black case), the two-line Meridian 9617 features an adjustable three-line backlit display for Caller ID and Call Waiting ID, a 100 name-and-number personal directory and call log, a speakerphone, a call timer and a redial key that accesses the last 10 numbers called. Of course, the real value in the Meridian is its USB-enabled synchronized call control. The Personal Call Manager software is a robust application, enabling drag-and-drop conferencing (select the names, press the phone's conference-call button, and the party line opens) and screen "pops" of incoming and call-waiting information. You also get the addictive ability to point, click and dial the person you want to call -- and the speakerphone will automatically kick in. Smartly, the Meridian 9617 is compatible with the Microsoft Telephony Applications programming interface, meaning it can sync with third-party contact-management software like Outlook and ACT. Finally, if your firm is running a Nortel Meridian 1 enterprise-communications network, the 9617 USB Telephone linked with Nortel's new Inca (Internet Communications Architecture) 1010 Telecommuter software will affordably bring data- and voice-over-IP directly to your home office via a single analog phone line. The Details Score (1-5): Utility: 5 Design: 4 Est. Lifespan: One year (businesses' growing acceptance of computer telephony integration will lead to a spate of "new and improved" products) Price: $359.95 System Requirements: Pentium running Windows 98, available USB port, 32MB of RAM, 25MB of available hard-disk space, CD-ROM, Windows-compatible sound device Copyright 1999. The Industry Standard. (www.thestandard.com)