AT&T HomeManager tries to make home phones cool |
It’s getting to be more and more common for people to forgo the home phone line in favor of wireless only. The reason is that virtually everyone needs a cell phone, and only a few people need a landline. AT&T has announced a new device that makes having a landline in the home cool again.
The device is called AT&T HomeManager and in its initial launch HomeManager is available in nine markets including — Chicago, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, San Francisco, and LA. The system revolves around a 7-inch touch screen frame built by Samsung. The frame connects to a home broadband network and can be used to place and receive phone calls.
In addition to phone calls, the device can be used as a digital photo frame and for synchronizing the address book of your mobile phone. Internet content like weather, email, stocks, sports, news, photos, movie listings, recipes and more can be sent to the screen. The HomeManager device also includes a cordless handset and retails for $299. Also required is a 2-year agreement to AT&T High Speed Internet or AT&T U-verse service.
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I’ll be curious to see whether AT&T has rolled its own software to pull content from the web and display it on the Home Manager or whether they’ve partnered with an existing company that provides that service.