BEO.ZONE

BeoCom 2

BeoCom

Production: 03/2002 - present

Designed by David Lewis and Torsten Valeur and crafted from a single piece of aluminium, the iconic cordless BeoCom 2 sat naturally in the hand, while its gentle curve matched the shape of the human face. It was provided with two chargers to choose from; either wall-mounted or table-top models.  Likewise, the purchaser could choose between the basic model and the system phone when the latter would marry itself to other BeoCom 2 and BeoCom 6000 telephones to form a home or office system. This also gave the user an instant intercom system. Up to eight BeoCom 2 or BeoCom 6000 telephones could be used together with mains chargers being bought as required.

The BeoCom 2 provided Caller ID, a Redial facility with access to the last 24 incoming and outgoing calls and an electronic phonebook which was shared among connected handsets. The phonebook was created automatically ‘on the fly’ as calls were made and received, and could hold up to 200 name and number entries. A thumb-track point was provided on the phone’s front-facing keypad for accessing all telephone functions.

The organic shape of the telephone was created through the use of a hydro-forming technique which pressed the telephone into its defining shape. The result was a very resistant, one-piece telephone without any sharp edges or unattractive joints. Its aluminium shell was available in a selection of durable, anodised colours and shaped to allow for easy, effortless use. The BeoCom 2 was provided with just the one ring tone. The special ringing tune was devised especially for the BeoCom 2 by Danish musician and composer Kenneth Knudsen.

Bang & Olufsen telephone technology is renowned for authentic voice reproduction and excellent sound quality and BeoCom 2 was no different with its speaker recreating every nuance in the voice of the person with whom the user was speaking. Volume control of Bang & Olufsen products could be made via the inbuilt A/V buttons.

The phone could be a little difficult to use, especially for people used to having telephone keys in rows of threes. Because the BeoCom 2 had rows of just two keys, side by side, it could take a while to get used to it. The telephone was often compared with the BeoCom 6000, probably unfairly so. But whereas the 6000 was so much to so many, the BeoCom 2 was more of an acquired taste and took a little getting used to.

The phone was revised very slightly throughout the years. The original stand-alone version incorporated a base station (for transmitting and receiving data from the BeoCom 2) built into its base. But newer versions had a separate base which could be bought as either PSTN or ISDN versions. The phone - like many of the other earlier BeoCom models - became well-known and recognisable, even on television, where it was often spotted sitting pride of place on presenters’ desks.

In November 2009 the colour range was revamped.  The six satin-finished models were replaced with similar-coloured glossy finshes; red joined the line-up for the first time.

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