January 1999

Price: $349.00.

RATINGS (0-5)
Installation: 4.5
Documentation: 4
Features: 4
Operational Testing: 4.5
Overall: A-

Compaq's 705 Corporate Communicator is a hardware/software CTI solution that hooks into a PBX and provides single-line access to desktop call control and a 56K fax modem. The 705 is less expensive than most CTI solutions, and it seems appropriate as an entry-level CTI solution for small to mid-sized organizations. The key issue is whether the 705's main benefits (adding desktop CTI, cutting costs) compensate for its limited feature set and inability to work with non-PBX SOHO organizations.

INSTALLATION
The 705 Corporate Communicator works in Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 environments. Minimal system requirements include a Pentium 90 or better and 16 MB of RAM. Installation begins with checking the model and type of your PBX and telephones. Once you have this information, check that certain options are in the appropriate settings - for example, we used a Nortel Norstar Compact ICS PBX, and with this switch Compaq required the hands-free mode to be set to automatic. Other PBXs demand more pre-configuration; some don't need any.

Next, install the card in a free ISA slot on your PC, but first check for a free IRQ entry. We first installed the card on a low-end Windows 95 machine and attached the PBX line and digital telephone. The included nine-foot cords and the line/phone labels on the card itself are a nice touch. Anyone who has installed a modem knows how frustrating it is when the ports are not labeled. After rebooting, plug-and-play recognized the card but the network connection was missing in action. This PC also had a problem with its CD-ROM drive, which we would normally ignore because there's always a network CD-ROM drive somewhere - but without the network up, we found it easier to switch to another PC than to troubleshoot. Typically, the network issue turned out to be a simple resource conflict that had nothing to do with the 705.

Our new machine was running NT Server, and unlike the Windows 95 machine, the card was not auto-recognized. We surfed to the NT directory of the included CD and chose the drivers setup. Then, we rebooted and ran the standard install wizard, which calls the Control Panel telephony options dialogue box. After we entered "9" (or another outbound dialing string), the wizard then brought us to the PBX set-up menu: users press the appropriate function button on their telephone (i.e., line, conference, or transfer) and the software learns to match these functions with its own GUI buttons. Finally, we rebooted again and double-clicked the icon.

DOCUMENTATION
The 705's box includes a quick start guide and a warranty manual. At first, we were a bit confused: the warranty manual has 90 pages and is written in 20 languages; the quick-start manual has 20 pages and it's only in English. Fortunately, we found a 111-page user's manual in Adobe .PDF format on the CD. The manual is very good, with plenty of screen shots, a very detailed troubleshooting section, multiple appendices, and good organization, but it would be much better if it were included in printed format. Nothing ruins a system administrator's day like being told to read 111 pages on a computer screen.

However, we liked that the online help files were nearly as comprehensive as the entire .PDF file. Unlike most Windows troubleshooters that say you've encountered a problem that they can't solve, the 705's troubleshooter actually troubleshoots. The problem we had with the online help was the missing tutorial files: the tutorial directory contained only a text file containing the sentence "Just a placeholder for the real tutorials," and the location of those files remains a mystery.

FEATURES
Desktop call and fax control are 705's main features. After selecting an entry from the address book or manually typing one into the dial box, users click the telephone icon to the right of a contact's number and the software automatically dials. Once the call is in progress, users see the hold, conference, transfer, and speed dial buttons arranged vertically in the center of the space-saving GUI. The precise operation of these buttons depends on which PBX and telephone you have, but their usage seems intuitive, and we liked that the buttons are large and clear. Meanwhile, caller ID information and data from the user's address book provide the basic screen-pops. There is also a rules-based macro programming feature for dialing into your group's voice mail system, so users can automate the dial-in and password process if they desire.

Pull-down menus and toolbar icons provide access to the send and receive fax options. Here, Compaq provides several tools, including a viewer applet and a cover-page builder, both of which seem primitive, except for the mark-up tools and graphics importer for .BMP and .PCX files, which are actually quite good. Alternatively, users can select from nine pre-defined cover pages.

We have mixed feelings about the address book. It is very easy to add new contacts, and we like that there are several categories of contact data. Standard .CSV files ease the import/export functions, and contacts that are updated within the 705 reflect in any other TAPI-compliant database. (We would like to see PalmPilot integration as well.) Compaq engineers also explained to us that the 705's modem and fax capabilities are accessible from any PIM that includes dialer functionality, and users can select multiple fax recipients to accomplish primitive broadcast messages. Unfortunately, the documentation related to using the 705 with other PIMs is severely abridged. Busy employees may not be so enthusiastic about having to figure it out for themselves. Meanwhile, other features include:

• Compliance with Lucent, System 75 and 85, Definity G1/2/3.
• Compliance with Nortel, Meridian models 2006, 2112, 2008, 2317, 2009, and 2616, and with Norstar models MICS and CICS.
• Compliance with Siemens/ROLM models 120, 240, 312, 400, and 624.
• 56K modem, upgradable to V.90.
• Remote password-protected administration.
• Five-year warranty.
• V.42 and MNP error correction/data compression.
• Supported fax modulation - V.17, V.21, V.29, V.27.

OPERATIONAL TESTING
The 705 Corporate Communicator was slightly complicated to install and configure, so we didn't know what to expect in its actual operation. We were surprised when we realized how easy the 705 is to actually use. This seems to be a result of the lack of gimmicks and the emphasis on real functionality. For example, commands like preferences, dial/hang-up, and address books are perfectly placed, and we never had to search for anything. All buttons are well labeled, address book features are easy to navigate, and the fax queue works like an enhanced Windows print manager.

Here, our main criticism is the lack of a graphical dial pad. Using the address book and speed dial in tandem may reduce wear on your brain and liberate your fingers and wrists from carpal tunnel syndrome, but you still have to use the telephone's own keypad to navigate corporate voice mail systems and to operate advanced features not supported by the 705. (For example, our voice mail system lets you save messages as old or as new, but the 705 only let us program one save button.) Having a screen-based keypad would hardly require additional desktop space, which Compaq seems to value, given the extremely efficient and minimal GUI, and it would make the entire product far more usable and in line with competitive products.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT/CONCLUSION
Compared to CTI products that cost $500-$1,000 per seat, the 705 Corporate Communicator is a good value at $349. Our main criticism lies in the address book and integration features, which we feel need to be much more tightly arranged and documented. Compaq seems to position the 705's savings more for eliminating redundant analog devices and phone lines than for its CTI functions, but as one of the few products in its category, the 705's easily installation, solid administration set, great GUI, and instant-CTI approach could help sales and compensate for the mediocre feature list. In short, while there are clear areas for improvement in future versions, we like the 705 Corporate Communicator as a CTI solution that provides an additional option between either having nothing or breaking the budget.