U.S. Robotics' Intros Focus On Analog, Broadband Modems

By Doug Olenick -- TWICE, 1/22/2001

LAS VEGAS -U.S. Robotics (USR) hit its first CES as a privately owned company with the introduction of a slew of new analog and broadband modems.

The company, which had been a division of 3Com until it was bought by several investors early last year, is focusing all of its efforts on developing products for the home, said USR product line manager Rob Thomsen.

While USR was part of 3Com, Thomsen said, it focused only on developing ISDN and dial-up modems, but under its new management the product line has been expanded to include several cable and DSL modems, and wireless home networking.

Shipping in the first quarter are the USR wireless PC card, suggested retail price $149; a wireless PCI adapter, $189 suggested retail price; the Wireless Network Combination Set ($299); a wireless network starter kit ($349); the USR Wireless Access Point ($399); and the USR Wireless Access System ($759). These products have started selling online and will work their way into retail in the next few months, Thomsen said.

The combination set comes with a wireless PC card with a built-in antenna and PCI adapter. The starter kit adds a detachable external antenna, and the Wireless Access System is a bundle that includes the Access Point and three PC cards.

Despite its focus on new technologies, USR is not taking its eyes off the analog modem business.

"Analog is still our bread and butter. It is still a growing business and is expected to keep growing for the next three years," Thomsen said. The company is readying a line of modems based on the new V.92 specification.