W8SDZ@SIMTEL20.ARPA (Keith Petersen) (05/28/88)
The following is presented "as-is" for its informational value. Be sure to turn on your "hipe filter" when reading. --Keith Petersen ---cut-here--- AT&T INTRODUCES SEVERAL NEW CONSUMER PRODUCTS PARSIPPANY, N.J. (MAY 26) PRWIRE - AT&T today announced a new phone system for homes and small offices that gives customers features previously available only on more expensive and complex business systems. AT&T also introduced two answering machines, a memory telephone and a typewriter with a new way to correct errors. The new AT&T System 2000 is the first phone system to give customers access to two telephone lines and an intercom throughout a home or office without requiring extensive rewiring of phone outlets or installation of separate control boxes. The two-line system uses a new technology to carry more than one conversation over existing one-line telephone wiring, similar to the way cable television distributes many channels over a single cable. A customer who now has one-line service simply installs a second local telephone company line near an existing phone outlet and plugs the system's master phone into both the old and new lines. The customer can then plug up to five System 2000 extension phones into existing phone outlets to use the intercom and both phone lines throughout the home or office. The suggested retail price for the master phone is $349.95. Extension phones are priced at $219.95 each. The System 2000 will be available at Phone Centers and selected retailers during the second half of 1988. The first of AT&T's two new answering machines, the dual-cassette AT&T 1320, features a digital LED display and enables the owner to call in from any Touch-tone phone to retrieve messages, update the machine's outgoing announcement or change the security code. Model 1320 owners also can give a code to special callers. A caller using a Touch-tone keypad can call, enter the code and cause the machine to beep. This signals the owner that a special call is coming in, even if the machine's speaker volume is turned down and the owner is not listening to incoming calls. If the owner doesn't answer, the caller can leave a message. The suggested price for the AT&T 1320 is $139.95. In a second new answering machine, AT&T used computer chip techology and a microcassette to deliver the efficiency of a two-tape answering device in a very compact machine. The AT&T 1300 answering machine can be turned on from any telephone and automatically stops its greeting and resets if the owner decides to take the call after the machine has answered. It is priced at $79.95. Both machines are available now in AT&T Phone Centers and will be sold by selected retailers later this year. AT&T's new Memory Telephone 530 features a 12-number memory, a hold button an indicator that lights when an extension phone on the same telephone line is in use and other features. All of the features are controlled from the phone's keypad, which is in the handset. It sells for a suggested retail price of $79.95, is available now at AT&T Phone Centers and will be sold by retailers during the second half of 1988. AT&T's Model 6110 electronic typewriter has a one-line memory, an electronic dictionary and a new feature that helps typists make quick and easy corrections. The typewriter sells at AT&T Phone Centers for under $200. =END=