IN A TRANSFORMATION worthy of Oprah Winfrey or Tom Arnold, Air Communications' Air Communicator 14.4-kbps cellular phone/fax modem is back -- slimmer, lighter, and boasting new talents and fewer hang-ups.
The new Air Communicator follows last year's nifty-but-not-quite-ready-for-prime-time product of the same name. New features include voice-mail and fax storage in the phone itself and a proprietary error-correction technology. But the most obvious improvement is reduced bulk: It's now the same size as many portable cell phones.
The Air Communicator's chief advantage -- AirTrue, a patent-pending error-correction scheme -- may be invisible, however. Unlike conventional cell phones, the Air Communicator listens in on the signals that cellular network sites send to each other to anticipate and cope with signal interruptions that cause other cell phones to hang up, according to Air.
The Air Communicator comes in two configurations: The 12-ounce Lite version ($695 list) gets about 90 minutes of continuous talk time per NiCd-battery charge and stores as much as 2.7 minutes of voice-mail messages or 6 fax pages. The Executive model ($995 list) weighs in at 9.9 ounces, gets about 100 minutes of talk time per charge with its lithium ion battery, and stores up to 16 minutes of voice messages or 37 fax pages. The Executive ships with a car power-adapter base that allows for hands-free use during driving. 800-247-3282 or 408-749-9883.
