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Global Village Comes in Swinging With Low-Price 56-kbps Modems

Internal and external x2 units that will ship in May include fax software, five-year warranty.

By Glenn McDonald, PCWorld   

It%squots the latest in a string of announcements by modem vendors supporting either the USR x2 or the similar K56flex technology from Rockwell. The two chip sets are incompatible, meaning that any Rockwell modem talking to a USR modem will connect at only 33.6 kbps.

Although many Internet service providers and online services, including AOL, support both chip sets, the lack of standardization is a continuing headache for consumers.

The new TelePort 56 modems are available as an internal ISA card as well as an external serial-port modem. The anticipated retail price is around $160--roughly $30 to $50 cheaper than comparable USR models, according to posted prices on the CompUSA Web site.

An important consideration for anyone buying a 56-kbps modem is upgradability. As newer and better features are developed, you want to be sure your modem can be easily upgraded by software.

Charlie Oppenheimer, vice president of Global Village%squots product group, said the TelePort products use the latest software-upgradable x2 technology.

%dquotWe believe there are going to be other functions and features with these modems over time,%dquot Oppenheimer said. %dquotSo the entire feature set is upgradable via flash ROM.%dquot

Flash ROM can be upgraded online or by disk, meaning you won%squott have to replace any hardware for a new upgrade. Most 56-kbps modem vendors offer software-upgradable modems.

The TelePort units, however, will offer 4MB of flash ROM as opposed to the typical 2MB offered by other vendors, Oppenheimer said.

The TelePort units also include FaxWorks software, an integrated fax and data application that lets you fax from any application, schedule faxes for immediate or future delivery, and send broadcast faxes. Global Village modems come standard with a five-year repair and replace warranty.

Oppenheimer said Global Village supports the x2 standard because USR has a good market presence in these early days of 56-kbps modem technology.

%dquotWe have a relationship with a large number of companies--we have a relationship with Rockwell,%dquot Oppenheimer said. %dquotBut in the early days, we believe there will be more x2 ports out there than K56flex. So in the short term there will be more volume with the x2.%dquot

Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba, IBM, Compaq, and AST support K56flex technology, which is backed by most of the rest of the modem industry. X2 is supported by Packard Bell NEC, Dell, Hitachi, and Acer.