A 'Smarter Desktop': Desk Phones and the Application Revolution

Alcatel-Lucent (News - Alert) has announced what company officials are characterizing as "a new class of Smart DeskPhones that transforms a desk phone into a rich communication experience beyond what mobile smartphones provide."

The new phone is designed to bring together "enterprise reliability," as well as a way to access multimedia communications capabilities and Web applications "to create personalized mashups or industry-tailored applications."

The Alcatel-Lucent OmniTouch 8082 My IC Phone (News - Alert) "ushers in a new era of software access and sophistication never before seen in a desktop phone," according to company officials' claims: "Unlike traditional desk phones, the new device offers an open platform and an entirely new user interface based on a large multi-touch display."

As Softpedia's review says, "Because they are tired of hearing us talk about their mobile cousins we like to call smartphones, desk phones are now trying to achieve the same status with Alcatel-Lucent's new Smart DeskPhones. Does this mean we can forget the popular, even quite stylish smartphones out there? Not really, but this phone will be highly appreciated in business environments."

The phone does have a seven-inch wide capacitive touch screen that is LED backlit, and includes context aware sensory feedback, as well as connectivity to Bluetooth and USB devices.

The new interface is billed as a way to allow enterprises to use new and existing applications and capabilities, such as instant messaging, presence, contextual applications, integrated e-mail, and MP3 music, "which can be brought together on the desktop," company officials say:

"The new phone serves as an application pod featuring an open API developer platform similar to the approach taken in the applications explosion in the mobile space, and will be integrated with the next generation Unified Communication services from Alcatel-Lucent."

Developers are currently tailoring applications for specific industries, such as hospitality and financial services, where unique features are most impactful, according to Alcatel-Lucent officials, who add that "for example, a tailored set of applications in a financial services environment could include tailored applications such as real-time video and twitter feeds from traders, to enable a rich experience which augments the capabilities of a desktop PC."