TT Systems To Launch IBM Phone Line
By Martha McDonald -- TWICE, 5/10/1999
TT Systems of Yonkers, N.Y., has announced a licensing agreement to market IBM-branded telephones targeted to small office and home office users. The line, scheduled to ship this summer, is part of a program by IBM to license its name in computer-hardware-related markets.
"We want to leverage the brand equity with technical partnerships to reach a broader range of consumers through different channels," explained Jim Bartlett, director of market development and licensing for IBM Consumer Products.
Ray Uhlir, IBM program director of licensing and business development, added, "We see the telephone as a natural extension of the PC, as a peripheral of the PC, and as a business tool. The phone is beginning to get more computer functionality. We see it as a potential stand-alone data-access device for getting e-mail or for getting information from the Internet." The line, he continued, will feature products "that have connectivity to computers and enhance computing" or take advantage of computers "to communicate more effectively."
The commodity single-line phone business is not in IBM's future, Uhlir emphasized. "We will offer single-line phones with added functionality, and then we will step up to multi-line phones." For example, he said IBM will offer six-line phones, both with and without Caller ID, and multi-line cordless phones with such features as intercom and broadcast messaging.
Uhlir pointed out that the telecom line will include standard phone handsets that hook up to a computer to provide private computer-telephony conversations. Other products will include cordless handsets that control software applications or the lights in a house.
The line will also include switchers to connect multiple peripherals to a computer and devices that support multiple lines into a computer or multiple phones on a single line.
The IBM telecommunication line will also offer Caller ID adjunct boxes with added functionality such as auto redial, digital answerers, and voice mail waiting indications.
All IBM cordless phones will use 900MHz digital technology. These will include products ranging from cordless headset phones up to high-end conference speaker phones for teleconferencing.
The company is also planning to add Internet phones and e-mail phones with displays.
TT Systems was selected by IBM because of its broad line and distribution through 15,000 retail stores, including Circuit City and Wal-Mart, Uhlir said.
Prices for IBM telecommunications products are expected to eventually range from $14.95 for a simple adapter up to $2,000 for a high-end video-conferencing system, Uhlir noted.
"The new IBM telephone products will have an IBM look, with some similarity to our Aptiva designs," he said. In addition, IBM will launch some value-added programs, such as bundling its ViaVoice voice-recognition software with a phone, which " will differentiate us and will provide more functionality."
"We are also looking at specific services that are software-based, such as automatically forwarding calls to a cell phone or pager, that might include monthly fees," said Uhlir. "We are not just a computer company. We are a solutions company."
TT Systems president Dan Leitman said his company has been talking to IBM for three years. "Originally, we were going to license the Aptiva name, but we weren't able to conclude a deal. Then about a year ago, the corporate strategy changed, and they decided to license the IBM name."
The initial IBM offering will include four-line phones with retail prices ranging from $150 to $300 and cordless headset phones at prices ranging from $79 to $149, he noted. Additional corded, cordless and headset phones are scheduled for the first quarter of next year.
"The packaging will conform with IBM packaging guidelines," Leitman added. "All of the licensees will have a similar look in packaging. Phones, accessories, all will look the same."
"We are not just adding the IBM name to existing products," he pointed out. "We are developing products for the new line. We are making an investment in packaging and tooling."
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