Every company imaginable has been trying to get into the appliance act, especially since International Data Corp released a February 2000 study suggesting Internet appliances would be an 18 billion-dollar industry with nearly 90 million units shipped by 2004. Still, as compelling as is the idea of having cheap Internet access without a PC, not a single vendor's Internet appliance has managed to make a large impact with consumers.

No doubt you've heard of WebTV, Microsoft's wildly unsuccessful set-top that connects to your TV and provides Internet access and interactive TV content. And perhaps you've also heard of Netpliance's i-opener, a self-contained Internet terminal with a screen and keyboard that debuted at the breakthrough price of $199, a price that has recently soared due to the company's financial troubles.

Not to be discouraged by the failed efforts of others, big shots like Intel, America Online, and even Oracle's Larry Ellison are getting into the act. Not to mention Sony's highly anticipated PlayStation 2, which is an Internet appliance in disguise. Eventually somebody will get it right and make a hit, and then Internet appliances will be everywhere.

So it comes as no surprise that 3Com, master of the PDA universe, should decide to enter the market with Audrey, a new counter-top self-contained device that features recognizable aspects of the Palm organizer as well as being an easy-to-use Internet appliance. You can find it at http://www.3com.com/ergo.

I was invited to the October 17 Audrey launch and was able to get up close and personal with the unit for about two hours. I was also able to speak with the product's designers, and while I wasn't able to take a unit home for real-world testing at that time, you should expect a full-blown review of the product in an upcoming issue of PalmPower.

An Audrey in every room
The Audrey launch was held at M Studio in New York City's Greenwich Village, which was decked-out to look like a large studio apartment, complete with bedrooms, bathrooms, a living room, a den, a kitchen, and a dinette. Each fabricated room included an Audrey as it would be used in typical domestic settings.