The channel can push a new generation of flat-screen displays with
the Neovo range of LCD displays from GBI, styled to be equally at
home on the desk or wall.
The channel can push a new generation of flat-screen displays with
the Neovo range of LCD displays from GBI, styled to be equally at
home on the desk or wall.
There is a range of models from 15in to 18in, all with visible
screen sizes much larger than their CRT equivalents. A TV tuner
option turns the flat screen into an ultra-slim full function TV -
ideal for video displays in receptions and exhibitions - and there
is also a wireless option.
Interactive touch screens are available for fingertip control.
Others offer built-in speakers and a USB hub for direct
plug-and-play connection to laptop PCs, as well as peripherals such
as printer, mouse and keyboards. Wall mounting brackets are also
available.
www.gbint.co.ukIomega's style Predator
Iomega is shipping its
newly-styled Predator USB2.0 CD-RW into the UK channel.
The Predator 24x is a faster and more robust addition to the
Predator family of products. These enable users to create, save and
share music, video, images and other data with the USB 2.0
connection at transfer speeds of 480Mbps or 40 times USB 1.1 per
second.
The unit includes an introductory offer of a USB 2.0 card, as well
as Iomega's HotBurn software. The Predator 24x drive is compatible
with most PC platforms, including Windows XP, and is available at a
recommended retail price of £249. Available through CMS Peripherals
and C2000.
www.iomega.com/europeSelf-install ADSL
Westell Limited is unveiling its channel offering of ADSL products,
claiming to provide substantial revenue generation opportunities
for resellers.
With the arrival of a wires-only, self-install ADSL service,
clients can now choose their own ADSL modems from their own
suppliers.
Westell's technology has been deployed throughout BT's ADSL network
and the company has shipped 1.5 million ADSL modems worldwide to
date. Westell marketing manager Toni Fabbricini said: "The
availability of self-install ADSL by service providers is a
watershed in the development of broadband Britain. No longer are
customers tied to service providers' choice of equipment vendor and
product bundling. This opens up the market to the reseller
community, enabling them to get on the broadband bandwagon."
As part of the launch of the reseller strategy, the WireSpeed
36R570, designed specifically for the self-install market, is being
offered to resellers at a reduced price. The 36R570 requires only
one IP address to serve multiple users on the LAN, reducing costs
and resulting in a more secure network connection for customers,
according to Westell.
www.westell.comIP back-up solution
As trading institutions begin to
question the financial security of their current telecom providers,
they are increasingly looking for alternative back-up solutions
that can either exist in standby, or be rolled out swiftly.
Purple Voice is deploying four-wire tie lines to provide 'shout
down' circuits and connections to open conference lines using Voice
over IP. Purple's private wire emulation (PWE) software interfaces
with traditional voice hardware solutions to route voice over the
existing data network.
If used to replace private wires, it is estimated that firms can
save up to 80 per cent by eliminating line charges, set-up fees and
associated hardware costs. Voice packets are only generated when
someone speaks - typically less than five per cent of the time on a
tie line. As an IP solution, this allows dormant bandwidth to be
available for other applications, fundamentally resulting in a more
efficient network.
"With the inherent flexibility and scalability of IP, PWE is an
ideal back-up solution to the existing communication
infrastructure," claimed Purple CEO Neil Gray.
www.purplevoice.comStored in a flash
VTEC Industry Europe has launched a
new USB flash drive, the V-Drive, intended to make data storage and
transportation so simple that other forms of removable data storage
devices will become obsolete.
VTEC is offering V-Drive to its existing OEMs, system integrators
and channel partners, but is looking to appoint additional partners
for the UK market. V-Drive is a small, durable storage device that
can be taken anywhere, fits into your top pocket and offers storage
capacities from 32Mb to 1Gb. It can be write protected to ensure
that data is not inadvertently erased or overwritten and uses NAND
flash memory storage media to provide data retention for at least
ten years.
It plugs into the USB port and is automatically recognised as a
removable drive, allowing files to be transferred with the standard
drop-and-drag routine at high speed - read at 920Kbps and write at
600Kbps.
www.vtec.co.ukSlick Swyx IP suite
Swyx Communications has announced
extended functionality for its IP telephony solutions aimed at
SMEs. Key new features include call routing, fax options, digitised
voice recording and application sharing. SwyxWare version 3.20 is
suited to firms that plan to replace or upgrade their current
PBX-based telephony.
With the product's contact management functions, the one click
application sharing feature means that in a call centre
environment, agents can transfer their desktop to another agent or
department in order to process a client request.
The digitised voice recording will also prove useful for call
centre applications and can be set for manual or automatic
operation. A Linux compatible version is also now available.
www.swyx.comDifferent SOX
Australian manufacturer Tennyson
Technologies is making a play for the UK IP telephony space,
pushing its Smart Office Xchange (SOX) CTI system through
Surbiton-base distributor Ipereon.
While SOX addresses the same SME sector as the likes of Mitel,
Avaya and 3Com, the system boasts significant differences. Says
Ipereon director Larry Linin: "While the usual suspects are
designed around IP to the desk, ours uses existing circuit switched
telephony."
Another differentiator is that users can retain their POTs and need
not buy in expensive IP handsets. The voice and data integration is
handled by Tennyson's virtual phone software.
This the only sub-100 extension GUI to be accredited by Microsoft
and SOX takes the core telephony control to the desktop.Principal
resellers look to get 35 per cent margins, but require at least two
technically-trained staff to be able to support the system. The
four day Ipereon SOX training courses run at £495.
www.ipereon.comConnector of choice
Teradyne Connection Systems' GbX
connector offers an upgrade path beyond existing 2mm platforms and
is claimed to deliver the highest level of density available today.
GbX balances mechanical robustness and higher signal integrity to
deliver an effective 10Gbps Ethernet interconnect, especially where
high density is required, with less than two per cent cross-talk.
"As existing 2mm connector platforms run out of steam, OEM
designers will be looking for the best balance between mechanical
packaging and signal integrity," said Peter Traver, GbX project
leader, adding that the GbX makes the right trade-offs and ends up
as the optimum high-performance, low risk solution.
www.teradyne.com/tcsSimplified convergence
Voice and data network provider
Avaya has rolled out its INDeX management console, the IMC, a
Windows-based software tool that provides IT and communications
managers with a simple interface to centrally manage their
network.
It's best suited to network areas that require regular attention,
such as user numbering, call distribution groups and system
speed-dial numbers. This follows Avaya research among SME customers
which indicated that IT and communications managers wished to
manage switching platforms and networks, including voice
applications, from a single point.
The IMC offers this single point configuration, as multiple,
disparate locations appear as one entity, giving a simple overview
of the network. The IMC integrated wizard makes adding new users
and speed-dials a simple process, with the console automatically
popping up an appropriate directory.
For more complex configuration, users can highlight the INDeX site
name that requires database changes and launch a Telnet session,
providing access to every area of configuration. The console
integrates help files providing guidance to new users.
www.avaya.comSimple management
Resellers can now offer the ability
to view network operations and bandwidth usage simultaneously in
real-time, ensuring that network resources are efficiently
allocated in line with business needs.
Netwatch - the latest innovation from Crannog Software - makes
understanding the network no longer the exclusive domain of the IT
manager and opens the VAR sale to new decision makers. It focuses
on simplicity, from initial set-up to ongoing usage and support.
Infinitely scalable, the software can be adjusted to fit existing
management systems, integrating disparate hardware and software
systems and managing them as a single entity. With 30 per cent
margins on offer, the company's incentive programme takes the
winning reseller to the Monaco Grand Prix for four days in 2003 and
offers quarterly rewards to those in pole position.
www.crannog-software.comFujitsu adds SME value
Fujitsu Siemens Computers has placed its Intel 4-based Econel20
PRIMERGY server within the new Value4You programme for SMEs.
Econel20 is available for entry-level configurations for £577
(excluding VAT). The programme, meanwhile, aims to make the latest
PC and server technology available to SME-supporting VARs.Value4You
is an integrated drive that combines a simplified product
portfolio, marketing support, sale support, sales promotion and
services. Apart from servers, the programme also offers the latest
LifeBook notebooks and SCENIC desktop PC systems.
www.fujitsu-siemens.comGateway to SOHO
Advantech has introduced two new
gateways to address small and home office (SOHO) users.
The EH-2100 is a broadband gateway and the EH-2101 is a broadband
wireless gateway, enabling remote users to dial in and access LAN
resources. Both form a communications bridge to WANs for home and
office networks, allowing the wired and wireless network to share
the broadband transmission. The EH-2100 achieves this through the
cable modem. The EH-2101 uses an ISDN TA/PSTN modem, either through
its IEEE 802.11b wireless access point or the wired Ethernet 4-port
switch.
Network address translation (NAT) security masks IP addresses of
local users and a firewall monitors incoming data packets.
www.advantech.com