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BeoCom 4

Bang & Olufsen BeoCom 4

“BeoCom 4 is a new cordless telephone which distinguishes itself through simplicity and ease of operation. It has at its disposal all essential operations such as a combined redial and last-caller list and built-in telephone book and is nonetheless is easy & intuitive to use via the familiar user-friendly BeoCom 6000 telephone book wheel. With excellent B&O sound quality the voice of the caller is so naturally reproduced that you recognise it immediately. Design and sound quality complement each other making BeoCom 4 comfortable to use even for long calls. “

Features:

BeoCom 4 is a cordless telephone based on simplicity, ease-of-use and no-nonsense functionality. It has all relevant functions, such as a combined redial list, Caller ID list and Phonebook. Operation and installation is simple: just plug it into a telephone socket and it’s ready to use. All functions can be easily and intuitively accessed using the innovative wheel along with four extra keys. These are located on the handset for easy access by the user’s thumb, the ‘clear’ key lies separately to ensure quick access. Only the most relevant telephone functions, Phonebook, Caller ID and Redial are excluded. Eight ringtones are available to choose from.

BeoCom 4’s excellent sound quality is produced by the interaction of an innovative loudspeaker unit with digital sound processors. The voice on the other end of the line is reproduced in a more sophisticated and authentic way. The phone’s stylish, cylindrical shape blends well with any environment and both the handset and base units are manufactured from robust materials with three different metal-pigmented colours. This phone was introduced as a ‘budget’ cordless (DECT) model. However, because it is not GAP-compliant, users are not able to use it in conjunction with the other two ‘system phones’ -BeoCom 2 and BeoCom 6000. BeoCom 4 can thus only be used as a ‘stand alone’ phone.

BeoCom 4 – Press Release February 2003

[I]Straight talk in focus – New BeoCom 4 cordless telephone offers simplicity in daily use Building on the belief that less sometimes is more, the new BeoCom 4 cordless telephone puts straight talking and no-nonsense functions in focus. Standing upright, this two-component handset and base combination offers convenient plug-and-talk functionality. One handset, one base, one easy setup. Just connect to your telephone outlet and the mains and you’re in business. “The BeoCom 4 handset weighs only 120 grams and operation takes place primarily through the raised wheel located on the handset. Just turn the wheel with your thumb, and leaf simply and easily through the BeoCom 4’s built-in Phonebook and Calls list. Once found, the press of a single button allows you to call whomever appears in the illuminated display”, explains Peter Eckhardt, Managing Director of Bang & Olufsen Telecom.

Standing strong – together or apart

Asymmetrically divided into two halves, the BeoCom 4 base and handset offer a high level of design-wise interaction. Placed together, the two components form an upright cylinder, standing tall. When apart, these two components offer two separate, fully functioning visual identities. “High-quality sound reproduction from the built-in loudspeaker is ensured by a combination of Bang & Olufsen skills in acoustics and advanced digital signal processing. We strive to ensure that you experience the caller’s voice as clearly as you do when you speak face-to-face,” continues Eckhardt. Utilising the DECT cordless telephone standard, the user may travel with his or her BeoCom 4 up to 300 meters outdoors or 50 meters indoors from the base without losing functionality or a drop in sound quality. The optional extra belt clip with headset provides a very high degree of cordless, hands-free freedom. The headset, consisting of a loudspeaker and microphone, is built upon the same design idea as Bang & Olufsen’s A8 earphones, where individual adaptation to each user is in focus. The handset is ergonomically designed with the aim of being pleasant to hold, even during long phone calls. Moulded in high-quality ABS plastic, the BeoCom 4 features a smooth and durable surface, ensured by an extensive UV lacquering process, which produces a highly scratch-resistant surface.

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BeoCom 3

Bang & Olufsen BeoCom 3

The crowning glory of Beolab 20 is the Acoustic Lens that delivers smooth high-frequency sound in full 180 degrees. The results are uncompromising listening experiences across your room and much greater freedom in terms of where you place your speaker for optimal sound.

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BeoCom 2500

Bang & Olufsen BeoCom 2500

With BeoCom 2500 means of communication couldn’t be simpler. The display on the phone allows you see the caller’s number, the time of the call and even the caller’s name if it’s listed in the 121-number memory. And if you can’t get to the telephone, or just don’t want to be disturbed, BeoCom 2500 can act as a passive answering machine registering the numbers of the last 24 callers.

BeoCom 2500 also has optional volume control for recent B&O AV equipment and is available in a good choice of bright and bold colours.

BeoCom 2500 features:

  • The display informs you of the duration of a call and gives status information on the functions available
  • All primary functions are available directly from the keypad of the BeoCom 2500
  • the ultra-light handset weighs only 115 g and is comfortable to use even during the longest conversations
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BeoCom 2400

Bang & Olufsen BeoCom 2400

At the time of its introduction, BeoCom 2400 was a completely new concept from the company. Since it was first released, it has become a classic – one of many from Bang & Olufsen’s design studios.

The telephone was really more than just a phone, featuring a 121-memory alpha-numeric phonebook which built up as new numbers were dialled. It also had redial for the last nine numbers. Searching through the BeoCom’s phonebook was extremely easy due to integrated search functions. When found, the phone dialled the number by itself after obtaining confirmation from the user.

All primary functions were available directly on the keypad, and secondary functions are accessed via a simple menu system. As with all other Bang & Olufsen telephones, BeoCom 2400 was equipped with a bass reflex speaker giving clear and easy recognisable voices. An infra-red module was available as an optional extra, giving the user the ability to control the volume on other Bang & Olufsen products.

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Beocom 2100

Bang & Olufsen Beocom 2100

Good business is also about good communication. The telephone and the computer are important work tools for any business. As they sit side-by-side on your desk anyway, it makes sense to connect them and extend the capabilities of both. With BeoCom 2100, when a customer calls your business, his file on your computer’s database is automatically displayed. (The phone was not available in the UK).

BeoCom 2100 has a capacity for up to 250 individual entries, dependent upon the length of the telephone number and name. These can also be accessed and edited directly via the computer screen. The Caller ID function requires connection to a direct line

A matter of choice

BeoCom 2100 is a telephone for the home office, the small business or anything in between. It’s the first telephone to be built specifically around the services offered by the telephone companies and gives you one-button access to the services and functions you use the most

Functions and options

But it’s not only the improved access to external services that makes BeoCom 2100 a special telephone; it contains its own 250 name and number electronic telephone book and includes a headset connection and the opportunity for hands free operation

ISDN enhanced by Beoline 1200

The role of BeoCom 2100 in an office setting is further enhanced when it’s combined with a Beoline 1200 adapter. This makes it possible for traditional analogue equipment to communicate digitally via an ISDN connection Available in: Denmark, Netherlands and Sweden (2001) – Not available in the UK

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BeoCom 2000

Bang & Olufsen BeoCom 2000

Beocom 2000, the classic telephone from Bang & Olufsen… what else is there to say?

Beocom 2000 was unlike anything which had been introduced by Bang & Olufsen before.

All the parts of the phone were made by the company itself and not imported from other manufacturers. A well-equipped telephone with extraordinary sound quality, a tradition carried on with all of the Beocom range of telephones.

The design is truly timeless. The display gave information on which number your were calling and the time connected. All standard functions were of course, also available, like volume control and numeric memories, and for the more advanced user there was a special headset available!

This phone was also available in a more simple version, Beocom 600, which didn’t have the display but had the same sound quality.

The memory bank of the Beocom 2000 enabled you to store your personal top twenty, and at the touch of just a few buttons you were connected. With display, bass reflex speaker in handset, 20 numbers of memory, quick call key for an often-use or ’emergency’ number, redial of last 3 numbers called, pause function, adjustable volume control, microphone mute (for secrecy), built-in speaker for listening, adjustable tone ringer with 8 settings plus off. There was even a hidden note pad which could be used by raising the lid on the right-hand side of the unit!

Up to 1993 Beocom 2000 was produced with different coloured keys. However, from this time a more mellow design was offered with all the keys complementing each other. On its bright display with large characters the Beocom 2000 could offer you the last three numbers for redialling

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BeoCom 2

Bang & Olufsen BeoCom 2

BeoCom 2 is a visually provocative response to everything looking alike in today’s telephone market. Its curved shape is very reminiscent of telephones used in the 1960’s, particularly in ‘The Prisoner’ TV series on the UK’s ITV network.

The release of BeoCom 2 in March 2002 was undertaken in its basic form. It was not a ‘system’ telephone in the first instance in that only one BeoCom 2 base could support one BeoCom 2 handset. This means there was no data exchange with other BeoCom2 handsets or BeoCom 6000 handsets or bases.

However, October 2002 saw BeoCom 2 become a full system DECT telephone, becoming part of the same 3-component solution that BeoCom 6000 uses. With this software update, customers can now ‘mix and match’ up to six BeoCom 6000 or BeoCom 2 handsets and chargers, using either the PSTN or ISDN base. This free software upgrade – to be carried out in dealers’ showrooms – will be necessary on existing BeoCom 2 phones in order to make them fully functional as a system phone.

Ringing the changes

The unique ringing tone of BeoCom 2 was created by musical composer, Kenneth Knudsen. Born in 1946, Knudsen is a self-taught musician and since graduating from the School of Architecture at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1974, he has chosen music as his profession. Over the years he has appeared on more than one hundred records with groups and soloists including Svend Asmussen, Miles Davis, Shubidua and the Indian violinist L. Subramaniam. He has been a member of, and recorded with groups like Secret Oyster, Coronaria Dans, ANIMA, Entrance, Bombay Hotel and Heart To Heart Trio. His list of compositions includes music for ballet, film, TV productions and jingles, as well as works for string quartet, solo guitar, solo cello, cello and piano, and choir.

In recent years Kenneth Knudsen has composed and recorded music for sound installations in various architectural and artistic contexts. As a soloist Kenneth Knudsen has released a number of CDs in his own name, most recently Sounds and Silence (dacapo DCCD 9419) and Music for Eyes (dacapo DCCD 9433).

Ringing the tune
The old-fashioned bell is nowadays rarely used in modern telephones. Like other bells, the sound from it contains a lot of overtones.

This is why you can both hear it at the bottom of the garden as well as close-by, and still experience the ringing of the bell as a pleasant sound. However the bell takes up too much room and it is too expensive for modern telephones. The technology that replaces it is both cheaper and more compact, but quite different to listen to. The design group found that this development was not exactly a positive one for the user. Therefore Bang & Olufsen turned to the Danish composer Kenneth Knudsen and asked him to compose a different ringing tune.

The Beocom 2 ring sounding like like cow bells is apocryphal! As visitors to Bang & Olufsen’s Struer headquarters know, there are no cows outside the Farm… only sheep! The ring of the BeoCom 2 was based on the sound of a piece of tubing falling on the floor. David Lewis was carrying a piece of metal tubing which he accidentally dropped to the ground. He thought the sound so interesting that a composer was called in to sample the sound and make a ring tone!

Knudsen chose to compose his tune as part of the design for a special telephone – the BeoCom 2 – rather than choosing an isolated, general tone, applied to all telephones. He therefore asked David Lewis, the chief designer of BeoCom 2 to make the final choice to ensure that the ringing tune was in harmony with the rest of the telephone. In this way the qualities of the ring became a harmonic part of the entire aesthetical experience of the new telephone.

To give the new ringing tune full justice the company’s acoustic department developed a small loudspeaker system in its own sealed enclosure within the handset of BeoCom 2 playing through a well defined slim opening within the phone’s aluminium tube.

Calling for attention
During the development of ideas for BeoCom 2, the design group expressed a wish that the ringing tune should call for attention in a polite way: a polite offer to make contact with the user, rather than a dominating, insisting demand.

But what is polite and what is not? How is this determined?
Bang & Olufsen asked the composer Kenneth Knudsen to solve this problem. Kenneth Knudsen came up with a number of solutions, from which designer David Lewis could choose.

Nearly each week of every year David Lewis drives in his car from Copenhagen to the B&O factory in Struer – a trip of 750km. During these long hours he would listen to Kenneth Knudsen’s pre-recorded tunes and discovered that in heavy traffic situations, where he was under pressure, he could clearly distinguish the pleasant call for attention, from other more annoying, ‘insisting’ tunes. He had therefore found the right tune for his new phone!

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BeoCom 1600

Bang & Olufsen BeoCom 1600

BeoCom 1600 was a tabletop telephone which combined a modern design with ease of use and was the same telephone as the BeoCom 2400 but without the alpha numeric memory functions. It however, did have the normal numeric memory functions. Using this phone was easy.

As with all other Bang & Olufsen telephones, BeoCom 1600 was equipped with a bass reflex speaker giving clear and easy recognisable voices. An infra-red module was available as an optional extra, giving the user the ability to control the volume on other Bang & Olufsen audio and video products. It was designed by the Swiss industrial designer Martin Iseli.

The vertical placement of the BeoCom 1600 handset made it easy to answer a call. Making a call was equally simple due to the position and curved surface of the keypad. The ultra light handset ensured that even long telephone conversations never seemed tiring.

Design

Reach out to towards BeoCom 1600 and enjoy a telephone that was simple to understand and easy to use. The ultra light handset weighed only 115g – which made it comfortable to hold even during the longest of conversations. The intelligent layout of the sloping keypad also ensured that your fingers moved intuitively and easily from button to button and from function to function.

Features

With BeoCom 1600’s built-in memory you could store the 10 telephone numbers you used the most and enjoy quick one-button access to them. As well as a volume control that allowed you to adjust the sound level during a call, BeoCom 1600 also offered a built-in loudspeaker function and the possibility to mute the microphone in the handset.

Colours

There was a choice between black, blue, red, yellow, green, terracotta, and grey.

A/V Control

With an optional A/V volume control incorporated into BeoCom 1600, you could adjust the sound on your Bang & Olufsen audio-video products directly from the telephone.

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BeoCom 1500

Bang & Olufsen BeoCom 1500

BeoCom 1400 and BeoCom 1500 were the first in the ‘new’ series of Bang & Olufsen telephones after the classic BeoCom 2000. The 1400 and 1500 series had a keypad integrated into the handset and not within the base like BeoCom 1600 and 2400.

This made the phone very compact. However, the sound quality was just as high as the more expensive phones because the two phones featured the same type of bass reflex speaker. Since everything is integrated in the handset, Bang & Olufsen offered no less than five different holders. Three different holders for wall mounting, one simple, and one with a built-in notebook.

There was also a version with an infra-red module to control the volume on main Bang & Olufsen equipment. Two table bases were also available, with and without the above-mentioned infra-red module. The main difference between BeoCom 1400 and 1500 is that the 1400 didn’t have memory capabilities or volume control.

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BeoCom 1401

Bang & Olufsen BeoCom 1401

BeoCom 1401 is an easy-to-use telephone with simple functionality. Choose between a wall-mounted version and a table top model offering optional volume control for recent B&O products and from a wide array of strong colours. It’s also a no-nonsense telephone. The range is simple, straightforward and functional and at the same time offering incredible flexibility. It’s possible to combine different colours with both a wall and table holder and to incorporate a volume control for Bang & Olufsen’s audio-video products.

Features

Memory for 10 numbers, redial function for the last number, adjustable volume control, microphone mute and optional AV volume control

Flexible

With its wide range of colours and unlimited placement options, BeoCom 1401 offers a level of flexibility that makes it just as easy to live with as it is to use

Colours

Do you want your telephone to match with the surroundings or to stand out from the crowd? Take a look at the different colours you can choose for your BeoCom telephone and decide for yourself. Choose between black, blue, yellow, red, terracotta, green and grey

A/V Control

Have you ever tried to hold a telephone conversation while the television or loud music is blaring away in the background? With the optional AV volume control in the tabletop version of BeoCom 1401 you can adjust the volume on your Bang & Olufsen audio-video products directly from your telephone

General keypad

The keypad is built directly into the handset of BeoCom 1401 offering easy access to all functions.