Alcatel-Lucent My Instant Communicator
The primary means of user interaction in the Alcatel-Lucent world of UC is My Instant Communicator (MIC), a thick client program that runs on Windows XP or Vista and is part of the company's Unified Communications Application Suite. MIC replaces, and consolidates under a single license, Alcatel-Lucent’s prior IP telephony, messaging, one-number and collaboration services formerly known as "My Phone,” “My Messaging,” “My Assistant” and “My Teamwork.”
During our testing, we found MIC to be a solid, reliable performer that offers a number of customization options.
The application does well at presenting incoming messages using easy-to-understand icons and audio alerts for voice, IM, email, chat or video. Responses to messages were similarly easy to make, and we liked the simple way we could switch, on the fly and without a hitch, between different modes of communication.
MIC unified the corporate directory and presented to us all available ways of reaching desired contacts and, in most cases, their presence. Colored indicators and icons tell whether a contact is offline, available or busy.
By hovering your curser over an icon in the system tray, the user is presented with a clickable menu which can then be activated to allow immediate access to the call log and voice mail. E-mail could not be accessed directly however.
Alcatel-Lucent strives to provide a consistent user interface regardless of the equipment being used. My Instant Communicator provides information on calls, voice mails, contacts and directory search. The software and associated hardware proved to be solidly reliable, and we particularly liked the way some of Alcatel-Lucent's hard phones come with an integrated, full keyboard that allows users to IM directly from the phone. (The optional My Teamwork solution allows for easy collaboration using video, chat, file sharing and file transfer.
Toast Anyone?
MIC uses various toasts--small, translucent messages that pop up from the bottom of the screen--to alert users of communication activity. The toast alerts come with various action options. Right from the little toast, users can take calls and transfer them. They can monitor their buddies and have the MIC issue alerts when that person signs-on or becomes available. Toasts also alert users to events, such as missed calls or new voice mails. We tried all of these features and found them to work flawlessly.
Stated simply, MIC does a good job of allowing users, wherever they are, to reach out to whoever they want so they can get whatever they desire.
Users can answer calls using the softphone piece installed in the PC. Or they can reply with an IM which can be set up to automatically inform the caller that they're busy. If the user chooses to reply with an e-mail, MIC uses the default e-mail program.
A big goal of any UC vendor these days is to keep the interface uniform across different devices. Alcatel-Lucent did a good job with My Instant Communicator. The interface remains substantially the same whether accessed via the company's IP phones, desktop PCs or Windows Mobile Pocket PCs.
My Instant Communicator also has the ability to dial-by-name. A search box in the toolbar allows users to type a name or number that prompts an LDAP directory search and responds with a list of contacts and their current states of presence. Users can store contacts' numbers in a personal directory that is separate from the corporate directory.
The Soft Side
The Alcatel-Lucent My Phone is a softphone application that can be accessed through a Web page served by the OmniTouch server, or installed on a desktop PC, in which case it is referred to as the Alcatel 4980 Softphone. The 4980 option of the My Phone product offers telephony, voicemail, GroupWare, VoIP and multi-device handling.
My Phone can be used remotely. It can either be used as an IP softphone with VoIP or it can be linked to a physical phone set, which can be a home phone or a cellphone number.
When you log into the softphone you are presented with some options asking for your location. If you are in the office, the softphone becomes an IP phone in the office.
If you are remote, you have option to select “remote.” It then allows you to put in the remote number are you at. When you put in that number, calls are routed automatically to the physical phone set you defined. It's more than call forwarding, because it is forwarding both voice and signaling.
For the Web-based version to work, a VoIP plug-in is installed and the PC must be running on Windows. As a security measure the plug-in is deleted when the browser is closed.
The 4980 is integrated with e-mail clients such as Outlook and Lotus Notes, giving telephony service to the mail clients.
Both the Web version and the thick client come packed with useful telephony features including incoming and outgoing call management, call hold, call transfer, conference, speed dial, call identification and dial by name.
Users can make changes to their desk phones functions, and to the 4980's, by using the Web client and vice-versa.
Roam, If You Want To
Alcatel-Lucent's 802.11 wireless phones are dubbed models 610 and 310. Both support G.711 and G.729 codecs, and their basic key layout is very similar to the common cell phone.. They come with a basic set of navigation buttons which allow you to have the same basic UC features available on the wired and Bluetooth phones.
The 610 and 310 have built-in softkeys. The phones are lightweight with navigation that's intuitive. The standard battery is good for four hours of talk time, and 80 hours on standby. An optional extended-use battery doubles those times.
The wireless units offered decent call quality, but Alcatel-Lucent's model 300 and 600 digital enhanced cordless telecommunications (DECT) phones were even better. The biggest difference was the amazingly crystal clear voice quality and absence of noticeable latency.
For workers who come and go, Alcatel-Lucent offers two "My Pocket Communicator" dual-mode software packages: One for Windows Mobile 5 compatible devices and another for Nokia E-65 or E-61 devices. The software enables simple and seamless handoffs between Wi-Fi and cellular. There are subtle differences between the Windows and Nokia versions. Primarily, the Nokia software automatically switches the phone to the best network while the Windows version requires the user to manually make the transfer.
Both units have the basic telephony functions, but the Nokia version has additional features, including call forwarding, call park, sending callback requests and – the one we liked best – the ability to transfer a call to the deskphone by pressing a button. With either package, you get corporate-type functionality including full directory search capability.
Ends of the Line
Alcatel-Lucent offers five desk phone sets: IP-based "hard" endpoints in its "8" series. The Alcatel-Lucent 4028, 4038 and 4068 IP Touch terminals come with alphabetic keyboards that allow interaction with IM, and which access the call-by-name directory.
The top-end of the IP Touch line is model 4068, with a 320 x 240 pixel color screen and 10 softkeys. The device is Bluetooth enabled, supports XML applications and comes with two Ethernet ports. The screen itself has graphical tabs across the top. When you add the UC suite of software, you can push out a new tab to the phones that has some UC information in it. A button allows you to change the screen to look at different tabs, one being for the UC goodies.
The devices allow you to see how many voice-mails, faxes and missed calls you had, one-number routing IM and contacts. Clicking on My Contacts produces a list of contacts with their current presence state.
This design allowed us to contact somebody at the same time as the PC running My Instant Communicator was booting up, or after we'd shut it down. Once the PC is running and MIC is open, incoming IMs show up on both the phone and on the PC interface. The conversation can be initiated with the phone and then transition over to the computer. Likewise, when a call comes in you can respond with an IM.
The phones will alert you to voice mails and faxes but not to new e-mails.
The Bluetooth handset, offered as an accessory, allowed greater flexibility for moving around the office. A message-waiting indicator light placed on top of the device is visible even when you aren't in front of the phone. It lights not only for voice mail, but also for call-back requests, missed calls or text messages.
With Alcatel-Lucent's higher-end phones, users can log into a Web portal and assign feature buttons using a picture of the phone. The company offers a number of other phones, including non-IP models, right down to no-frills units ideal for placement in lobbies.
