When a large company like the Matsushita Electric Corp. pools its creative resources, it can produce revolutionary products like the new Telenium product.
Telenium is the joint effort of the Panasonic Consumer Electronics cordless phone division and the Panasonic Telecommunication Systems Co. cellular phone division. Telenium is a cordless phone base with a slender, 6.6-ounce cordless phone. When in range of the base, the phone operates in the 900 MHz cordless frequency, through the local landline phone network.
But flip a switch on the handset and step outside, and the phone can operate on the 800 MHz analog cellular network.
“There is lots of natural evolution potential with this product,” said Debra Sachs, national marketing manager for Panasonic’s wireless systems division.
Secaucus, N.J.-based Panasonic is a division of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. of Osaka, Japan, a $56 billion manufacturer of electronic and electric products.
The Panasonic Telecommunications Systems Co. was created in January to address the telecom market. It will handle pagers, cellular phones, personal communication systems, personal access systems, digital business systems and point of sale systems. Panasonic Telecommunications is a division of Panasonic Communications and Systems Co.
Panasonic is marketing Telenium to cellular carriers and retailers. Target U.S. customers are small office/home office business users. The product will be available in May, for a suggested retail price of $200. Telenium service will be available through cellular service providers, Panasonic said.
In areas of the United States where systems are equipped with Authorization and Call Routing Equipment switching technology, Telenium can support one-number service. The phone also supports Interim Standard 94 protocol for in-building wireless, meaning it will work on Panasonic’s BusinessLink systems.
Panasonic expects to release a Telenium for 1900 MHz Global System for Mobile communications networks in the first quarter of 1998. By the second quarter of 1998, Panasonic hopes to have a dual-mode Telenium that operates at 800 MHz analog and Code Division Multiple Access technology.
Panasonic also has introduced a new BusinessLink handset, slender and 20 percent lighter than the original BusinessLink handset. It has a two-line alphanumeric display, vibrator, improved liquid crystal display battery and signal strength indicators and PC card interface capabilities. The new BusinessLink handset, the EB-H66, is scheduled to be available in May.
