CD-RW handset never forgets a conversation

AS THE ENTHIASTIC CeBit salesman gaily informed the INQ, the concept behind the Vidicode Featurephone 175 is so simple that people instantly recognise what it does. It's a telephone with an industry standard CD-RW drive built in.

Better still, you don't need a fancy digital (ISDN) telephone line, the Featurephone plugs into an ordinary analogue (PSTN) connexion.

And onto one CD you can squeeze up to 175 hours of recorded speech. As an answering machine it offers the choice of 30 announcements and as an addressbook it can store up to 500 telephone numbers.

If your telephone supports CLI (Calling Line Identification) then you can cut and paste to the addressbook.

The obvious appeal to the Featurephone is that it requires no computer skills to operate but if you want to view the call log on a PC's screen, the optional software costs extra.

The unit price is currently E 975 (Euros) but Vidicode reckons that when it moves to mass production the price will drop dramatically. Vidicode