NOW THIS IS A (TRANS)PORTABLE PHONE! 

Today phones accomplish things never dreamed of in the early days of the standard black home and office communications device. We have cordless, cellular, voice-print and speaker phones plus answering machine phones, fax/phones and other multiple units that handle phone, fax and voice messaging all at once. Now those who want everything can have their own individual "phone company"? This unit does what the phone company does. It's expensive today, but it will be as cheap as the first cellular phones within five years.

Pictured here is the MX 2020P MAGNAPhone ... a portable satellite telephone. It is the most compact and lightweight single case Inmarsat-A, Class 1 Satellite Communications (SATCOM) terminal available. It provides telephone, fax, telex and data communications anywhere in the world. The carrying case travels as airline luggage. It is an automatic and programmable Land Earth Station (LES). It can handle multiple phone support (up to five connectors), and operates with any two-wire touch-tone phone. It's self-testing, has system status reporting and a voice synthesizer.

However it is the most compact unit currently available, smaller than two cubic feet including the antenna. But it is all there. It isn't that light; it weighs 47 lbs. (21 kgm). Open the case and minutes later you are in operation. I love the directions: "remove from case, unfold legs, swing umbrella antenna into place. Turn it on, aim" (at the satellite).

The MagnaPhone selects the closest Land Earth Station near the call destination site automatically. It can be programmed to handle 30 user-assigned country codes, provides a four-line by 40 character LCD display, speakerphone, handset and keyboard. Also included are all those things normally expected on a phone: redial, number storage, speed dialing and external telephone intercom an attachable thermal printer is also available.

The unit permits the use of slow-scan video, computers, modems, remote radio repeaters, encryption and other devices. The antenna is about a metre long when extended for operation. The unit operates in temperatures ranging from -40 C to +60 C. and can handle wind-driven rain, snow and sand. Requires 120/240 volt power line connection.

It is not cheap. Prices run from US$35,000 to $50,000 depending on optional extras -- but you don't need quarters.

More information: Tony Castaldy, Nav-Com/Magnavox, 9 Brandywine Drive, Deer Park, New York 11729. Phone: 516/667-7710. Fax: 516/667-2235.

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