Ericsson Unveils Cordless Communications Device for the Home

At CeBIT in Hannover, Ericsson unveiled the cordless Screen Phone HS210. This product defines a new product category fusing Bluetooth connectivity and the Internet, telephony and e-mail into a convenient well designed package.

With the Screen Phone, the user is freed to browse the Internet, send e-mails and make phone calls simultaneously from the comfort of their sofa rather than being tied to the main PC that sits in the den. They are free to interact with anyone on their own terms. Using Bluetooth wireless connectivity, users are freed from the tyranny of the cable that would tie them to fixed spot in the home.

``Bringing mobility to the home is a long-standing feature of Ericsson's strategy,'' says Jan Ahrenbring, Vice President Marketing and Communications at Ericsson Mobile Communications. ``Home is where we believe that people want to relax and find the balance in their busy lives, interacting with friends and family.''

The Screen Phone has a color touch screen, on which the Internet and other functions can be launched at the quick touch of a finger. You can talk using the speakerphone or use a handsfree as you surf. The Screen Phone uses the Linux operating system for its stability and openness, thus enabling a wide range of future applications.

Aimed at the contemporary household, the screen phone benefits from extensive research into consumer needs and leads the way for a raft of products that bring convenience to the home user.

``We are approaching a paradigm shift in the way we communicate and interact through consumer electronics. Clearly the migration of broadband into the home, combined with wireless IP based communications will profoundly change the way we interact with a host of things such as home entertainment TV's, stereos, white goods and many other intelligent Bluetooth connected devices we have not seen yet,'' says Ahrenbring.

Ericsson expects that the home communications market will develop within the next 3 to 5 years reaching a similar size as today's home PC market. Naturally Ericsson intends to be a major player in this market segment. The Screen Phone will become available towards the end of this year for selected markets in America and in Europe shortly after.

Complementing the Screen Phone are the new Dect Home cordless phones and the high speed Cable and ADSL Modems. The Dect 230 & 260 phones, launched last year, are now joined by the new 230i and HP210, 250 and 270 models.

The 230i is for ISDN, the 210 is a fun, easy to use phone, the 250 has in- built speaker phone in the handset and the 270 is a fully featured model including ``voice ringing'' and digital answering machine.

The HM200c (known as the Piperider) cable modem, along with its ADSL counterpart HM220d, enable simple and attractive connectivity to the next generation of high-speed networks. The HM200c Cable Modem connects to coax cable networks run by cable TV and wideband operators, the advantage being always on, plug-and-play and the DOCSIS open standard. The HM220d ADSL Modem is similar in looks to the HM200d, but connects to the standard residential telephone line where the operator has begun his migration to broadband by upgrading his system to support the new high speed capability.

Ericsson is the leading provider in the new telecoms world, with communications solutions that combine telecom and datacom technologies with freedom of mobility for the user. With more than 100,000 employees in 140 countries, Ericsson simplifies communications for its customers network operators, service providers, enterprises and consumers - the world over.

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