NEW YORK (Business 2.0) - This really is rocket science. Telex, a company that installs communications systems in commercial jet planes and manufactures advanced tactical systems for the military, has brought its central-command technology to the boardroom with a new starship Enterprise-like conference phone.

Though I'd never claim to be a teleconferencing, I have experience with a whole range of rigs -- from the small-business huddle around someone's speakerphone to the all-powerful teleconferencing pod that beams in virtual attendees. The key here, of course, is getting a clear, uninterrupted signal. The budget option -- gathering around a speakerphone -- is a hit-or-miss affair, with the remote attendee hearing only 60 percent of the meeting at best, even when everyone's talking directly into the mike. Conference phones are better equipped, but most suffer from the overstimulation problem -- they can't process several voices at once, so the person with the loudest yammer wins. Business meetings rapidly become crash courses in aural Darwinism.

Telex Nexus Platinum Conference Phone

The most recent evolution of the species (which ranges drastically in price, from about $400 to $1,300, depending on the retailer) has adapted to this problem with full-duplex technology that allows for two-way, simultaneous transmission. I called two friends at a remote location, and sure enough, when they talked over each other, I could hear them both without any cutout. When all three of us talked at once, the Nexus had some trouble parsing and did cut out for an instant, but it was hardly noticeable, and three people talking at once doesn't make for very clear communication anyway.

The reception on the remote phone end is not entirely static-free, but the incoming voice on the Nexus base unit is as clear as if my friends were in the room. The phone tracks each voice, adjusting for pitch so that even the faintest voices get equal airtime (and a multipoint mute button lets you silence either or both of the mikes, for when you don't want whispers heard on the other end). There's a backlit liquid crystal display with caller ID, 10-phone-number memory to help you dial the usual suspects for weekly powwows, and, for an extra $100, additional satellite microphones. But you probably won't be needing those -- when I back 20 feet away from the Nexus base and talk at a natural volume, my friends think I'm speaking directly into it. That's a serious microphone.

Whether it's travel safety concerns or the bottom line that's keeping your meetings docked at home base, equipping the business with a commando-style conferencer may be well worth the cost.

Telex Nexus Platinum Conference Phone: $700; www.nexusplatinum.com

Berger is editor of ReadyMade (www.readymademag.com), the quarterly magazine for people who like to make stuff. Readers and manufacturers can pester her at shana@readymademag.com. She writes Gizmos Weekly for Business 2.0.