Enhanced Telephone
Encyclopedia
The Enhanced Telephone is a telephone
developed by Citibank
in the late 1980s for customers to do banking and other financial transaction
s from their home. The official launch date was February 26-27, 1990.
The first version of the Enhanced Telephone, the 99A model, was beige and featured a monochrome CRT
screen. Because of its chunky appearance, several developers dubbed it the "sawed-off ski boot." The physical hardware was manufactured by Transaction Technologies Incorporated (TTI).
The second version of the Enhanced Telephone, the P100 model, was manufactured by Philips Electronics and featured an LCD
screen and more sleek styling. The font was developed by Bitstream Inc.
.
Software for the Enhanced Telephone was written in a proprietary language called HAL (Home Application Language).
The Enhanced Telephone ultimately failed to become a viable product because by the time it was introduced, home banking via PCs was becoming more common. As the World Wide Web
became popular in the early 1990s, the Enhanced Telephone was rendered obsolete.
The Philips
P100 phone lived on and to this day variations of it are used for other applications.
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
developed by Citibank
Citibank
Citibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York...
in the late 1980s for customers to do banking and other financial transaction
Financial transaction
A financial transaction is an event or condition under the contract between a buyer and a seller to exchange an asset for payment. It involves a change in the status of the finances of two or more businesses or individuals.-History:...
s from their home. The official launch date was February 26-27, 1990.
The first version of the Enhanced Telephone, the 99A model, was beige and featured a monochrome CRT
Cathode ray tube
The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...
screen. Because of its chunky appearance, several developers dubbed it the "sawed-off ski boot." The physical hardware was manufactured by Transaction Technologies Incorporated (TTI).
The second version of the Enhanced Telephone, the P100 model, was manufactured by Philips Electronics and featured an LCD
Liquid crystal display
A liquid crystal display is a flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals . LCs do not emit light directly....
screen and more sleek styling. The font was developed by Bitstream Inc.
Bitstream Inc.
Bitstream Inc. is a type foundry that produces digital typefaces . Founded in 1981 by Matthew Carter and Mike Parker among others, it claims to be the oldest such company...
.
Software for the Enhanced Telephone was written in a proprietary language called HAL (Home Application Language).
The Enhanced Telephone ultimately failed to become a viable product because by the time it was introduced, home banking via PCs was becoming more common. As the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
became popular in the early 1990s, the Enhanced Telephone was rendered obsolete.
The Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
P100 phone lived on and to this day variations of it are used for other applications.