New $199 ISDN adapter from Cardinal

[James Love <love@tap.org>]

  Pretty soon I'm gonna get isdn...jl
  
  http://www.msn.com/csp/content/zdnet/zd002.htm
  
  Ziff-Davis Computer News
  
  July 3, 1996
  
  Cardinal Technologies Prepares Low-Cost ISDN Adapter
  
  From: PC Week
  
  by Stacy Lavilla
  
  In an attempt to make ISDN technology more affordable to corporations and
  small- and home-office users, Cardinal Technologies Inc. will ship this
  month an aggressively priced ISDN terminal adapter that sets new price
  points for such devices. 
  
  Cardinal's $199 IDC 100i ISA adapter board features a single ISDN Basic
  Rate Interface connection and a built-in NT1 interface. The 16-bit adapter
  supports both PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) and Multilink PPP. 
  
  Although high-bandwidth applications like the Internet are driving the
  need for technologies such as ISDN, one of the larger stumbling blocks
  hindering wider implementation of the 128K-bps technology has been cost. 
  
  ISDN terminal adapters, which typically range in price from $300 to $500,
  are often considered the most cost-effective alternative for users
  implementing ISDN technology. The Lancaster, Pa., company's offering is
  set to compete with products such as Motorola Inc.'s $495 BitSurfr Pro
  external ISDN adapter. 
  
  One industry analyst said the IDC 100i's price tag may spur competing
  vendors to lower their prices as well. 
  
  "If you're a vendor and you have a competing product with similar
  functionality, you would almost be forced to drop your price," said Kevin
  Curtis, an analyst at The Yankee Group Inc., in Boston. 
  
  Curtis cited the adapter's built-in features as well as its price. 
  
  "The fact that the network termination device is integrated on the board
  is a positive design element, and the wizard-driven interface for both
  configuration setup and troubleshooting was better than anything I've
  seen," he said. 
  
  Minimum systems requirements for the IDC 100i include a 486SX PC, 8M bytes
  of RAM, 4M bytes of free hard-disk space and Windows 3.x or Windows 95. 
  
  The adapter will be available through distributors, resellers and retail
  channels. 
  
  Copyright © 1996, Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. All rights reserved. 
  
  For additional technology news, visit [http://www.zdnet.com]. 
  
  
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  Voice: 202/387-8030; Fax 202/234-5176
  Center for Study of Responsive Law
     Consumer Project on Technology; http://www.essential.org/cpt
     Taxpayer Assets Project; http://www.tap.org
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