BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : NOVEMBER 13, 2000 ISSUE
TECH BUYING GUIDE If Web Surfing Is All You're Into... An info appliance may be just what you're looking for After a decade of sweating my way through balky PC setups, I've reached my limit. Chalk it up to creeping curmudgeonliness, but I have been aching to try out the new so-called information appliances that promise to make getting on the Net as easy as using a toaster. If nothing else, I figure I can give one of these gizmos to my parents so they'll stop calling me every time one of their computers acts up. The good news: Information appliances generally work as advertised. True, they're no substitute for a PC if you want to do word-processing, home banking, or digital photography. But then, that's not their purpose: They're meant for no-muss, no-fuss e-mail and Web browsing. And the best of the lot, the new Audrey from 3Com Corp. ( COMS) (877-949-3266), goes further, adding clever tools for managing a family's calendar and address book, displaying snapshots, and playing audio clips off the Net. My quest for the ultimate info appliance involved testing five products. The criteria were dead simple: I wanted to plug one cord into a power outlet, another into a phone jack, and get on the Net with the touch of a button. Once online, I sent e-mail and surfed news sources, online shops, my bank, and my brokerage. How did it go? Four of the five gizmos met my basic test with varying degrees of ease. But one, the NIC from New Internet Computer Co. (877 926-8642), didn't make the grade. It's a stripped-down PC disguised as an appliance, and it needs serious improvement. The clear winner was 3Com's Audrey, whose name was chosen to sound friendly and warm. That it is. With a snazzy design and a simple user interface, the compact Audrey is a beautiful piece of engineering. It handles Web surfing and e-mail--including messages scribbled on the screen or spoken into the built-in microphone--and links to Palm computers, allowing parents and kids to easily coordinate their calendars and address books. Best of all, it felt as fast as my desktop PC. The only negatives: The 8-inch diagonal screen and the cheesy wireless keyboard are too small. Also, the $499 price is a bit steep and does not include monthly Internet access charges. Runners-up were the $299 i-opener from Netpliance Inc. ( NPLI) (800 467-3637) and the $599 iPaq Home Internet Appliance from Compaq Computer Corp. ( CPQ) (800 345-1518). The i-opener has a good user interface with an added twist: You can increase the size of fonts on the 10-inch screen with the touch of a button, a boon for seniors. Meanwhile, Compaq deserves kudos for fine design and packaging. The iPaq not only had the sharpest screen but also did the best job of rendering Web pages, thanks to its Windows CE software. It couldn't, however, play Net audio or video clips. The big problem with both products was speed. The i-opener was bearably slow, but I thought I would lose my mind waiting for Web pages to load on the iPaq. Another drawback: Both require you to set up and pay for new, separate Net accounts that cost $22 per month. Sadly, I can't recommend the InfoGear iPhone (800 211-6500) for anything but quick-and-dirty e-mail. Sold through Net service provider Big Planet for $249, plus $25 per month for Net access, it's a large desk phone with a screen and a keyboard. Unfortunately, the black-and-white display made Web pages hard to read (the rest of the products I tried were color), and the browser had trouble showing many of the sites I visited. The dog in the bunch was the $329 NIC from New Internet Computer, a startup backed by Oracle Corp. ( ORCL) CEO Lawrence J. Ellison. The NIC is a disaster, an info appliance only a nerd could love. Its many pieces make setup not much easier than a PC, and the user interface is crude and unfriendly. Worst of all, the performance is terrible. Everything about the NIC feels as if it were rushed to market without the fit and finish that distinguish 3Com's info appliance. If only Audrey had a screen and a keyboard as good as Compaq's and sold for, say, $299, it could walk away with the whole market. Until then, I'm still searching for something to get my folks off my back. By Andy Reinhardt in San Francisco _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS The New Wireless Wonders Desktops What If It Breaks? 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