“If S3 Inc. builds a Transmeta-based Web pad the world may beat
a path to Frontpath, the new information-appliance subsidiary that
the company announced Wednesday. The company hopes that the
autonomy of the new subsidiary will allow Frontpath to develop
information appliances, first for vertical markets such as banking
or hospitality, and later for consumers.”
“Early products will likely use a Linux operating system,
possibly from Transmeta Corp., according to Ward Williams,
Frontpath’s director of product marketing. Frontpath will design
the GUI. Details of product plans and partnerships will be
announced over the next few weeks, Williams said. However, parent
S3 was one of the first companies to show a Transmeta-based Web pad
at the Transmeta launch event, based on a design from Number Nine
Visual Technology.”
“The company still believes that the primary vehicle for
Internet access within the home will be the PC, but that a user
wants to have instant access to information even while on the go,
Williams said. For this reason, wireless 802.11 support will be
built into the first product, he said.”