Who needs a computer to surf the web?

By Toyin Akinmusuru

Weekend, Etc. Editor

A year ago, the only way to access email was either via an early handheld with e-mail access or a full fledged comptuer. For surfing the Internet, the only means of browsing was with a full-fledged computer.

As modern technologies have matured, such hybrid products have developed, blurring the lines between computer and computer companion, and eventually creating something altogether different.

Most personal computers are used primarily for office productivity and surfing the Internet. It is not often that a computer necessary for office productivity does not require some form of Internet access. The reverse is not always true. A new type of device, something not quite a full comptuer and yet Internet capable, was born.

There are a myriad of manufacturers, from the big PC companies to startups developing this new brand Internet devices. Companies such as Acer, Compaq and Vestel are using the Microsoft Web Companion system, which runs Windows CE and uses the Microsoft Network (MSN) as its Internet Service Provider.

Several firms are going the non-Microsoft route - the Netpliance I-Opener is based on the QNX Realtime operating system, Simpliance eMailBox is based on the AppForge OS and Boundless Technologies' iBrow is using vxWorks under the hood.

The prices for these products are similarly non-traditional. Boundless Technologies' iBrow is giving their product away for free. Branding agreements made with ISPs, online trading services and even banks allow Boundless to distribute the iBrow free to partners' clients. Sites using iBrow get their appliances preset to go to their pages and using their propietary software further branding the products to their customers.

Other manufacturers plan on selling their appliances and then charging monthly fees for Internet services. For example the eMailBox costs $99, plus $8 per month for Internet access. Netpliance, the first company with a Internet appliance with mass distribution, is selling their I-Opener for $299, plus access for $21.95 a month. A deal recently inked with Circuit City allows users to buy the device for a hundred dollars less.

All of these will be devices are slick, small and efficient. They are being designed to boot-up instantly and go into sleep mode when not in use, making them immediately available. Most systems will be delivered preconfigured with the user's e-mail address and dial-up number, making installation of the devices even easier to perform than even the iMac.

These products are obviously not full-featured computers, projected to serve as devices in libraries, kitchens, classrooms and other places where only Internet access and not a full fledged computer is needed. Of course, with the increase of Internet applications and online storage, a device with Internet access might be all a standard computer user requires.

There is apparently a growing market for these products. Based on current market trends, IDC, a technology research firm, predicts that over 50 million devices will be sold by 2002. Manufacturers are producing their products as quickly as possible in hopes to build their brands quickly and therefore mold the markets favorably to their products.

Despite the hype surrounding these new products, traditional PCs are by no means deal. According to IDC the traditional PC market grew by over 50 percent in the summer of 1999. The number of U.S. homes with PCs exceeded 50 percent last year, with approximately 25 percent of those homes, owning at least two computers. Like handheld devices and Internet-enabled phones, these Internet devices are just another means to get people connected to the net in the new millenium.

Courtesy of Netpliance

The I-Opener is the first and most widely distributed of the new web devices. Running on the Windows CE platform, it provides Internet access at a low price.