By Linda Leung, VNU Net
The New Internet Computer Company is in discussions with
potential European partners to help with the launch of its much
anticipated web appliance in the region before the end of the
year.
The company yesterday opened its online store to sell the $199
New Internet Computers (NICs) to US consumers. The system, which
includes free internet access from US ISP NetZero, comes with a
266Mhz Cyrix-made processor, 64Mb Ram and a 56K modem. The device
has no hard disk drive and a version of the Linux operating system
runs on a CDRom drive. A monitor is extra, however, adding an extra
$129 to the price.
A spokesman for the manufacturer said it was talking to a
number of European content providers about providing content for
the appliance when it launches in Europe. But he declined to
specify when the device would be likely to appear in the
region.
“We are looking at local dotcoms that can provide these
services. We have several partnerships in the US for news and
sports but this content is regional and we are meeting with
European providers,” said the spokesman. It wants to sign up a
number of partners that provide news, weather and shopping features
to be the default website to appear when users hit their keyboards’
function keys.
The NICs are the latest incarnation of the stripped down network
computer (NC) which was originally touted by Oracle chief executive
Larry Ellison five years ago. NCs failed to get off the ground
because they were too dependent on networks and servers and were
unsuccessful at penetrating the Intel and Microsoft desktop
duopoly. “The idea was ahead of its time, five years ago. We were
in the middle of the PC phase,” said the spokesman.
The company is now aiming the machine at the internet appliance
market which, according to researcher IDC, will reach $17.8bn and
89 million units worldwide by 2004.