In the last few years, computer manufacturers have been trying to create all manner of appliance that will move the Internet from your desktop to your kitchen counter, TV-top, bedroom nightstand and just about every other flat surface in your home. Devices like Infogear’s iPhone have made some headway in this market, but a true killer app(liance) has yet to take the American home by storm. Netpliance hopes to change that with its i-opener.
The i-opener is a small computer, a so-called "Internet appliance," with a very decent 10" color LCD screen, built-in 56k modem, keyboard, and an optional mouse. It has an optional printer too and a USB port for future expansion. Despite its very PC-like appearance, this is not a PC: it lacks a hard drive (or any other kind of drive), CD-ROM, expansion slots, and other desktop features. The i-opener is designed for a single purpose: accessing email and the World Wide Web. It can send and receive email, check the local weather and news (automatically), browse the Web (Java and Real Audio both supported), and with the click of a dedicated key, it can even order pizza!
The i-opener is revolutionary not for its one-button pizza ordering, but for its form-factor and truly affordable price. At only five inches deep, the i-opener fits nicely into a corner of a bedroom or living room or on a kitchen counter. Since the device is under a hundred dollars, it is cheap enough to fit just about anyone’s budget. Because it handles all of one’s basic Internet needs, it can eliminate the need for a full PC in some households. Sure, you won't be able play games on it, but that's what your Playstation is for!
The i-opener is not without its shortcomings. The fact that it, unlike the iPhone, looks and feels so much like a PC, makes you want to do PC functions on it, which you cannot. The addition of RealAudio is a great advance in Net appliance technology, but the speakers on the i-opener make your Sports Illustrated baseball radio sound like a Harmon Kardon system (and there is no Audio Out to add speakers!). You also have to commit to Netpliance’s $21/month Internet service (which is more expensive than most these days), and the default operation of the device tracks all of your movements in cyberspace (it’s a little like paying for a Nielsen box!). There is an "opt-out" feature, but it’s not totally obvious and most people won’t bother to find and enable it.
The i-opener isn't the only Net appliance coming to market, either. Palm Computing, makers of the ubiquitious PDA of the same name, has announced plans for a similar device. It will likely run the Palm operating system, allowing it much greater functionality than the i-opener because of the thousands of programs already written for the Palm. If these rumors are true, although i-opener may be the latest stab at a Net killer app(liance), it is far from the last.
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