NEW YORK CITY -- APRIL 1 2007 -- ASSOCIATED PRESS -- The annual Panasonic
telecom products press conference was hosted by Dr. Schlomo ("Sonny") Gaetano,
chairman of Panasonic's Obata-Hamamura Electrical Laboratories, who is visiting
the United States from Japan. Dr. Gaetano does not speak English, and his
introductory remarks were translated into English by Mark Gillespie. Gillespie
is the newly-appointed Marketing Director of Panasonic's Legacy & Analog
Products Division, which includes all Panasonic products other than HDTV,
digital cameras, and BluRay DVD players.
The press conference was held in the Copter Club atop New York's Pan-Am
Building, a venue used by Panasonic in the early 1970s to announce such new
technologies as the Liquid Crystal Display and the audio cassette changer.
Speaking to reporters and Wall Street analysts, Gillespie described a new line
of "One-Button Instruction-Works Almost Normal" voice response phones that will
be compatible with current Panasonic analog and digital phone systems.
These phones, which are half the width of conventional Panasonic 7700-series
phones, have just one button, illuminated by a blue LED. There are no
touch-tone buttons, no line buttons, and no feature keys.
An advanced voice response system, developed by the recently formed
Panasonic-Motorola-Samsung (PMS) research group, allows the user to choose
lines, activate features, and dial calls by speaking. The voice response system
can work with new wide-bandwidth handsets and headsets sourced from
Plantronics, or a built-in wideband full-duplex speakerphone that uses a new
chipset from Texas Instruments.
The purpose of the single button is to "toggle" between commands and normal
conversation; and an LCD display shows the current mode, as well as traditional
information such as time, date, dialed number, and incoming Caller ID.
An idle phone is normally in the "READY MODE," as indicated in the backlit
display. To make a call, the user first taps the button and the screen will
then say "COMMAND MODE." At this time, the user could say, "Line one, Dial one
two one two five five five one nine one three Extension seven three five four
Account Code four two six seven," and the LCD would show the chosen line (or
any line if no line was designated) and the dialing sequence. If the pre-dial
display shows an error, the user can say "correction" and repeat the dialing
sequence until the display shows the right information.
When the display is correct, the user simply taps the button, and the display
will show "TALK MODE" and the call will be dialed, as with any other phone. If
the call is answered, either live or by voice mail, the user can speak. If the
line is busy or unanswered, the user can then tap the button to return to
command mode, and simply say "re-dial" or "end." The user can also enter
command mode to issue verbal instructions for hold, transfer, conference,
volume up or down, etc. A program mode is also available with three quick taps,
which allows such functions as ring volume adjustment, display language choice,
and changing color of the display illumination.
Two versions of the phone will be available in early summer, the KX-T7799 for
use with the Panasonic KX-TA824 and KX-TAW848 systems, and the KX-TDA7699, for
use with KX-TDA systems. Both phones will incorporate Talking Caller ID, Caller
IQ, GlobaRange, ROHS, Trisys, TSAPI, ring tone downloads, OU supervision, and
compatibility with ADT alarm systems; and will work with current DSS/BLF
consoles.
Initially, the OBI-WAN phones will be English/Spanish/French trilingual, but
the firmware will permit six more languages to be added in the future. Pricing
has not been decided, but Gillespie said the phones should sell for less than
$1,500.
In a demonstration, a KX-TD7799 tried by Panasonic telecom product sales
manager Manny Morose misdialed three times before making a successful call.
When Michael Balsama, Training Director of Panasonic's tech support department,
tried the phone, it dialed correctly on the first call. Balsama pointed out
that he had been experimenting with the phone for several days, and voice
response accuracy increases as the Digital Signal Processor "gets to know" the
user's voice. Balsama also told the audience that the 2.0 firmware upgrade,
scheduled for the fall, "will make voice calling almost as fast and accurate as
tapping buttons;" and second-generation Basic Oral Recognition Algorithm
Technology will provide phone access security and automated account codes.
During the question period, Gillespie explained that the phones are not
regarded as current mainstream products. "These are obviously executive, or
trophy phones," he explained, "that won't end up on every desk. They will
appeal to gadget lovers and early adopters of new technology, and will provide
new freedom for the handicapped. Feedback from the field will help us to refine
the technology for use in less expensive phones in the future. At some point,
we may have phones with no buttons at all."
Other new developments include:
*** New top-of-the-line analog and digital phones incorporating Wireless
Everything/Works Everywhere technology that allows current Plantronics wireless
headsets to work with the phones without having to install a remote handset
lifter.
*** Advanced research into Hydraulic Wave Transmission, which can provide phone
or data links to distant buildings in a campus environment, by modulating water
or steam inside plumbing pipes, instead of having to install new cable or rely
on wireless transmission.
***KX-TD7895, a multi-line proprietary cordless phone with buttons to select
lines, replacing the KX-TD7896 that lacks line buttons. The unit operates at
900MHz to avoid interference from wireless networks, and has a three-line
multi-function display.
The presentation concluded with a recorded fairwell message from outgoing
Panasonic Corp. of North America President/COO Martin Kono, shown on
Panasonic's new 144" LCD HDTV. Kono has been dispatched to China by Yoshi
Yamada, now Chairman/President/CEO/COO/CFO/CIO of Panasonic's African, European
& Western Hemisphere operations. Kono will be supervising a new three-way joint
venture in China operated by Matsushita Yeast & Fermented Spirits Asia Ltd,
Tsingtao Breweries Ltd, and Anheuser Busch Singapore Pte Ltd.
_________________________________________________________________
KX-T Mailing list --- http://kxthelp.com/
Subscription changes: http://kxthelp.com/mailman/listinfo/kxt
