Editing Hayes Microcomputer Products (section)

==V.32bis==
Almost immediately after the introduction of [[ITU-T V.32|V.32]], the CCITT began the process of standardizing a slightly faster variant, the 14,400&nbsp;bit/s [[V.32bis]]. During previous speed bumps, the large companies like Hayes and USR were generally the first to respond with new models.

Not so in this case; shortly after [[ITU-T V.32bis|V.32bis]] was ratified in 1991, [[Conexant|Rockwell]] introduced a low-cost [[chipset]] supporting the new standard, along with similar V.32 and [[ITU-T V.22bis|V.22bis]] (2400&nbsp;bit/s) versions, all of which supported MNP, [[ITU-T V.42bis|V.42bis]] and, optionally, 9600&nbsp;bit/s [[ITU-T V.29|V.29]] [[fax]] modem capabilities. Their system was introduced commercially in the [[SupraFAXModem 14400]], which went on to become a runaway bestseller. Soon there were hundreds of similar models on the market, and Rockwell's competitors also rushed in with similar chipsets of their own.

Hayes was never able to re-establish itself as a market leader through this period. In the fall of 1991 they introduced the US$799 '''Smartmodem Ultra 144''' which also supported Express 96, but by this point, Express 96 had little cachet and the market was already flooded with lower-cost modems. They then split their line into the '''Accura''' and '''Optima''' brands, offering the Accura as a low-cost model, although the feature sets were not that different between the two lines. Hayes eventually purchased two of their competitors, [[Practical Peripherals]] and [[Cardinal Technologies]], turning them into low-cost brands in order to compete with a flood of companies like [[Supra Corporation]] and [[Zoom Telephonics]].

As speeds increased with the introduction of [[ITU-T V.34|V.34]] and [[ITU-T V.90|V.90]], Hayes increasingly became a follower rather than a leader. By the mid-1990s their modems were also based on the Rockwell chipset and had little to distinguish themselves from other vendors.

Oddly it was the Rockwell chipset that also re-standardized the various command sets back on the original high-speed ones introduced by Hayes. As the Rockwell-based systems became more and more common, other companies, like AT&T, introduced new versions of their modem chip sets with identical commands. Rockwell had taken their commands from the V-series Smartmodems, so by the mid-90s the market was once again based largely on a "real" Hayes command set.