December 12, 2002
Toshiba America's Network Products Division (NPD) is jumping with both feet into the market for hybrid cable modem/wireless router gateways, and its strategy includes a play for sales in both the cable operator and retail channels. This week, the retail portion of Toshiba's plan kicked off, as its first product hit CompUSA store shelves across the country.
Toshiba's PCX5000 DOCSIS Wireless Cable Modem Gateway is the first home networking device developed by the company's NPD group. Toshiba's gateway features a cable modem, wireless router, self-installation software, four 10/100 ports, and Check Point's security technology, as well as support for both wired and wireless networking. The initial price tag for the device at CompUSA will likely be around $300.
Despite the obvious appeal of simple home networking gear to share a broadband connection or other peripherals such as printers, consumers have had trouble purchasing their own home networking gear at retail and then configuring the system to include all of the functionality they desire. According to Toshiba officials, much of the feedback they received from retailers in advance of the release was that customers were returning wireless networking gear at a high rate because of network set-up and configuration complexities. Some return estimates at the retail level were as high as 30 percent, sources say.
In response, with every PCX5000 device, Toshiba includes a proprietary self-installation software package. Dubbed JumpMASTER, the software is designed to make the initial set-up and basic system configuration as simple as possible. Co-developed with support software developer Promptlink Communications, the JumpMASTER Home Networking Wizard is designed to walk users through the configuration process in minutes.
While self-installation can certainly go a long way at the retail level in terms of customer satisfaction with the gear, it's an even more important factor for cable operators that are just now warming to the idea of rolling out home networking programs to their customers.
Duffy Hayes, CED
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