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From: jon_sree@world.std.com (Jon Sreekanth)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Hello Direct's Conference Phone
Message-ID: <15137@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 1 Dec 90 16:26:05 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 859, Message 4 of 13


In my latest Hello Direct catalog (Winter 90), on the back cover,
there's a "conference phone" advertised. It's about the size of a
large hardcover, and it looks pretty slick, and attaches to a normal
phone jack.

"VoicePoint Teleconferencer tunes itself to phone line, room size, and
acoustics, handles conference rooms of 2 - 12 people.  Virtually
eliminates echo and feedback ... digital echo cancellation eliminates
echo and feedback - without clipping words like old fashioned simplex
speakerphones ... "

The process seems straightforward enough, and as a matter of fact, it
was something I'd thought of a while ago, so I feel a proprietary
interest :-) in it. Hello Direct does not say who makes it, but
carefully squinting at the photo, I think I see NEC's logo on the
right bottom corner. At any rate, the blurb claims it's a "Conference
phone breakthrough!" and sells it for about $1295.

Questions: Is such a product really new? Seems obvious. The moment I
bought a speaker phone earlier this year, I realized it was simplex,
and there could be a need for full duplex. Second, does it cost $1295?
Is it harder to do room echo cancellation than what a cheap full
duplex modem has to do?

Regards, 

Jon Sreekanth

Assabet Valley Microsystems			Fax and PC products
346 Lincoln St #722, Marlboro, MA 01752		508-562-0722
jon_sree@world.std.com