Something is Calling

Before long, when the phone rings, you won't know whether somebody--or something--is calling. The something will be Electro-com.

Electro-com is a 15-in. by 15-in. by 12-in., 45-lb. invasion of privacy that works by itself day after day, reading phone numbers from a punched tape, dialing them, and trilling "Hello!" It then goes on to say: "This is a recording. What television program are you watching? When you hear the tone, please give the name of the program and it will be automatically recorded. Thank you and goodbye."

Electro-com's message, of course, can be a pitch for anything from a political candidate to a bottle of mouthwash, though the tiny monster's promoter, 22-year-old Jeff Schottenstein of Los Angeles, wants to eschew the hard sell for fear that "the Public Utilities Commission will declare us a public menace." TWA has tested the device for confirming reservations. Another Electro-com prospect: Allstate Insurance (to remind people that their policies are about to expire).

Some other changes being rung on the phone:

o Big hit at last week's Business Equipment Show in Manhattan was a pocket-sized executive finder that buzzes when the hapless executive--loitering in the washroom or on his way downstairs for a quick one--is wanted on the phone.

o The New York Telephone Co. is previewing a new "TouchTone" phone, which replaces the familiar dial with a bank of ten buttons. A seven-digit number (providing one can remember it) may be punched out in an estimated two to five seconds, compared with an average ten seconds for dialing.

o Distressing as it may be to A.T. & T. the sale of offbeat handsets is booming. Two companies in New York City account for most of a fast-moving retail and mail order business in rebuilt foreign antiques and reproductions, equipped with dials and plug-ins to fit a phone company jack (Jacqueline Kennedy has one on a 19th century Victorian table in her White House office). Also popular are American antiques--wood-cabinet wall phones and the stand-up type that went out in the late '30s, known in the telephone trade as "the Eliot Ness." Newest dodge for phone phonies: removing the transmitter from a bought phone (A.T. & T. sets may not legally be tampered with) and plugging it into a jack next to a regular handset. When the phone rings, the transmitterless phone can be raised without the usual telltale click to hear who's talking to your answering service (so you can break in if you like them) or to eavesdrop on a conversation on another extension.

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