New Businesses Opportunities New services are being developed that employ visual interaction to overcome traditional usability constraints. Visual messaging enhances the popularity of voice mail. Visual voice mail, e-mail, pages, and fax notification are being brought together in unified messaging. Visual directory provides much more convenient and usable access than traditional approaches. Visual Internet access expands the consumer market to users without Personal Computers or other Web access devices. Visual service provisioning offers a better way for subscribers to enter and maintain their profiles as well as a more cost-effective approach for service providers. In short, visually enhanced services have great appeal. Bellcore has developed the Analog Display Services Interface (ADSI), specifications for creating visually enhanced, context-sensitive, easy-to-use, visual user interfaces to many telephone and business services. ADSI interfaces between its screen phones and networked or independent servers, and facilitates downloading service scripts to ADSI Phones. ADSI provides interface and performance specifications for Customer Premise Equipment and servers to implement ADSI transactions. Robust development tools for generating scripts to manage subscriber service interaction are included. ADSI Screen Phones are feature rich — offering internal personal directories, speakers, and soft keys customizable by application — while adhering to established standards. ADSI phones offer a flexible packaging and delivery vehicle for expanding established services like visual “Class”/Custom Calling Services (Caller ID, Three-Way Calling, Forwarding, Automatic Callback/Automatic Recall). ADSI is a vehicle that can quickly simplify complex applications. Business to consumer applications that were too complex for practical audio application are real candidates for the subscriber interface benefits of combining audio, keypad and visual. The downstream potential of the screen on ADSI phones also opens a whole new realm of business to consumer communication, or “Push” advertising capability. Information Services, e.g., sporting events, community activities, and entertainment schedules can become a practical telephone service with visual support. Local movies and times display on the ADSI screen for easy selection.
Business Opportunities for Visual Display Phones and Interactive Services