plw@mgweed.UUCP (08/27/83)
Persuant to the discussion of phone goodies that are desired by some people, be it known that the consumer products division of AT&T (known by whatever name is currently in vogue) will be marketing a device known as Telstar sometime in the near future. Telstar has a couple of features that seem to be in demand - call screening and call forwarding. The call screening (CS) works like this: contained in the Telstar is a 'directory' of names and numbers of people you are in contact with frequently. the directory is set up by you when you install your unit. some or all of these numbers may be flagged as ones you wish to answer right away. by turning on the CS feature, Telstar asks the caller to enter their number (via the touch-tone pad of their phone) and checks it against the numbers in its directory. if it is one you ind- icated you wanted to answer, Telstar rings your phone. if not, the caller is told no-one is available and their number has been recorded. The call forwarding is really just an announcement of the number where you can be reached. If call screening is on, the caller is asked to enter their number, it is checked against those you flagged, and the caller is given the number if they are one you wanted to talk to. Telstar can be set to answer your phone on from 1 to 16 rings. if you do not pick up the phone, Telstar asks the caller to enter their number and verify it. When you check your messages, the unit tells you the number(s) that called and what date and time they called. Unfortun- ately, no verbal messages are recorded. This isn't meant to be a commercial, so I won't go into the other features. I don't know when it will be available, but I understand it is being tested in a couple places in Florida and New Jersey. The last I heard, it was to be available this fall and will retail for around $300. Pete Wilson ...we13!mgweed!plw Western Electric Montgomery Works (we make the Telstar!)