See who you talk to.

• Position: What's New? - Phone Video Station

* Once again, the world of science fiction has intruded upon the commercial marketplace. All those spaceship control-room scenes with characters talking to other characters while their images appear on a video screen sort of fell into the realm of phasers and transporter beams until, all of a sudden, picture phones began cropping up on electronics store shelves. Perhaps the breakthrough should have been expected after seeing "Star Trek" Capt. James T. Kirk's flip-top communicator emerge as the ubiquitous cell phones that no one seems able to step foot out of the house or office without.

Most of the first generation of belong able to see who you're talking to has taken the form of a tiny window built into a cell phone. However, a much-more-satisfying approach is via the Beamer from Vialta, Inc., Fremont, Calif. Billed as a Phone Video Station, it is a 3 1/2" LCD screen set into a sleek clear frame that stands neatly on a desktop, night table, kitchen counter, or anywhere else you might have a phone. (We are talking about an analog line in this case, since the Beamer will only work with a hard-wired phone. Cell phone users will have to settle for the aforesaid tiny built-in window.) The device plugs into the phone with an adapter, much like a stand-alone answering machine would, and into a wall outlet for power. In these days of multipaged, single-spaced instruction booklets, it's a pleasure to report that installation takes mere minutes, without any special tools.

To view who is on the other end of the line, that party must also have a Beamer unit, so you're restricted to those you have an ongoing relationship with--family, close friends, lovers, etc.--rather than being able to see every caller. There are three visual options: being able to see who you're talking to; watching the video you are transmitting; or, using the picture-in-picture feature, showing both of the parties on the same screen. Should you be caught in a state of dishabille when the phone rings, you can utilize the...