Zoom's New Channel 2™ Feature
Permits Incoming Voice Calls While Online
Allows User to Selectively Answer
Phone Calls During Internet Sessions
Boston, November 18, 1999 - Zoom Telephonics, Inc.
(NASDAQ: ZOOM) is now shipping most of its Windows-compatible
56K modems with a feature that allows receipt of incoming
voice calls during Web browsing. The feature, called Channel
2™, is standard in five Zoom modems destined for the
North American market. Channel 2 works during any
online session and with all Internet access providers, including
America Online. It is compatible with all popular Internet
browsers and data communications software packages, and with
Windows and Unix operating systems. The program works in conjunction
with Call Waiting, available from most local phone companies.
When a computer user is online, Zoom's Channel 2 feature
permits incoming voice calls to be handled one of three ways:1.
An incoming call can cause the modem to hang up automatically.
All phones on the line then ring, and calls can be answered
from any of them. This option is useful if an important or
urgent call is expected and/or if the computer is connected
online, but the user is away from the machine. 2. If
the user is at or near the PC, decisions to answer can be
made call by call. An incoming call causes an audible alarm
from the modem's speaker. Once alerted, the user can elect
to either ignore the call or immediately disconnect from the
online session and answer the phone. 3. The online
user can disable the alert signal and ignore incoming calls
altogether. Channel 2 commands can be embedded in the
dial string or initialization string of a browser or other
application software, and can be left in place or easily changed
on a call by call basis. Zoom is also completing a
Channel 2-related Windows application that will be available
free on the company's Web site (a beta version is currently
available on our beta page). This application permits the
Channel 2 user to associate a soundcard-played WAV file with
incoming calls. Thus, an incoming call could trigger a traditional
ring, a snippet of a favorite song, or a sound effect. Zoom
will supply various sounds, and facilitate sharing of user-authored
WAV files on its Web site. "Channel 2 is a great
example of Zoom's commitment to providing high performance
and useful features to our customers," said Frank Manning,
Zoom's President. "This is a feature that people want,
and we've gone the extra mile to make it attractive to our
customers. Many of our competitors can't even cover the basics
like strong 56K functionality. They are manufacturers, not
modem companies. At Zoom we have a team of engineers who are
proud of delivering great products and pleasing our customers.
This is important now for modems, and will be even more important
as DSL, cable modems, and advanced networking reach high volume."
The Channel 2 feature is now shipping in the USA in
Lucent chipset-based external RS-232 and USB models for PC-compatibles
and the Macintosh (Zoom/FaxModem 56K modems 2945L, 2949L,
2985L, and 2986L), and in the internal Zoom/FaxModem ISA PC-compatible
modem 2919L. Zoom customers who already own one of these Lucent
chipset-based models may download the Channel 2 feature free
of charge from here.
Please visit Zoom's Web Site at www.zoom.com
for detailed technical specifications of Zoom's entire product
line. Zoom Telephonics, a communications leader since
1977, designs, produces and markets faxmodems, wireless LAN
products, Home Phoneline Networking devices, ISDN products
and other products that link people and their personal computers
through the world's largest network, the international telephone
network, and connected networks including the Internet and
corporate local area networks. Zoom Telephonics is publicly
traded on NASDAQ (NASDAQ: ZOOM). Zoom products are marketed
under the Zoom and Hayes brands and sold worldwide. |