What home internet appliances are on the U.S. market today, and which
are recommended based on the following criteria:
Ease of use for web browsing and e-mail
Economy - under $400 or less if possible
Connectivity to cable internet
Internet Service Provider flexibility - i.e. no mandatory services
such as Microsoft's, preferably.
By home internet appliance, I mean a turn-key type of machine for
internet and e-mail use only. Some may be called "web pads". Compaq's
IPAQ was an example. It is discontinued, though as are many others
that had come out, apparently. Even if a discontinued unit can be
found, it is not ideal, because it may not be so well supported, and
may be soon obsolete.
I am looking for a unit that is actually out now and the live
telephone contact
where it can be purchased.
Research and review of the entire field is NOT necessary as an answer;
just the companies, models, and contact numbers for 1 to 5 good ones
if they can be found.
$10 tip if I plan to purchase. |
Request for Question Clarification by
sycophant-ga
on
21 Jan 2003 15:02 PST
It should not be too hard to find a few products that fit your
description, except for one point, the cable internet access. I am not
aware of any PCMCIA cable modems, and also the idea of having a cable
attached to your webpad is less than appealing I would think.
However, if you already have cable internet access at your home, and a
wireless network then it should be no trouble. Is that the case? If
not there will be an additional expenditure required for cable
internet router and wireless ethernet equipment.
Are you able to clarify the networking details?
Regards,
sycophant-ga
|
Clarification of Question by
reb-ga
on
21 Jan 2003 16:50 PST
Thank you for your interest.
The reason I am looking for cable connection is for the high speed.
The purpose of the appliance is internet-only, so I am interested in
high performance on the internet, and I think a modem connection would
not be adequate. Also, I rather not occupy a telephone line with its
use. I think it essentially needs something like a network card. DSL
might be feasible too, but I currently prefer the cable services over
the DSL.
A further clarification of my question is that I used the phrase "web
pad", but I am not sure exactly what that denotes. All I mean is a
machine or device that is built for internet surfing and e-mail. It
could look like a desktop, notebook, or whatever, just that its
internet functions and performance be as good as a good computer. The
rationale for this type of device over a computer, is simplicity and
ease of use.
I am thinking this type of product may be somewhat rare becauase home
electronic appliance stores indicated to me that Compaq's Ipaq was
about the only one made, and then I found it to be discontinued. I
looked into reaching some of the company's on the pages such as the
following:
http://www.pencomputing.com/frames/textblock_webpads_table4.html, but
was not turning up anything that was appropriate, let alone available
for the most part.
Acer lists some possibilities on one of its sites - maybe in Taiwan.
The right department is difficult to reach. Maybe one or more of these
leads is useful; I have not pursued them all. I hope it does not
demand a great deal of research. Again, I appreciate your interest.
reb-ga
|
Request for Question Clarification by
sycophant-ga
on
21 Jan 2003 17:37 PST
Compaq markets a number of devices which can all simply be referred to
as 'iPAQ'. The one I assume you are referring to is the 'Internet
Appliance' (http://athome.compaq.com/showroom/static/ipaq/intappliance.asp)
However, it is unclear as to whether these are still available, the
purchase of Compaq by Hewlett Packard meant the discontinuation of a
number of product lines and seems to have left parts of the Compaq
site somewhat broken. The only iPAQ products availabe on the Walmart
site now are handheld computers. And the www.hpshopping.com has no
reference to them either.
The information about the compaq appliances at the URL above does
indicate that they can be used with some broadband internet
connections and also with your own ISP. However, specifics on these
details are not available.
There are a number of IA-1 and IA-2 model iPAQ internet appliances
available on eBay (http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&query=Compaq+Internet+Appliance&cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&ht=1&from=R10&currdisp=2&itemtimedisp=1&st=2&SortProperty=MetaEndSort)
however, I am understand that a second-hand one may not be what you
want.
So, discounting the possiblity of the iPAQs, my next stop was the
internet device portal allNetDevices (http://www.allnetdevices.com/)
and things there don't look too promising. It seems there are not many
internet appliances still available. However what do still exist are
devices to allow you to use email without a computer, but they
certainly don't meet your requirements.
About.com used to have an internet appliace page,
(http://netappliances.about.com) however that seems to have
disappeared, leaving us with only a general computer section.
One option that does still seem to be open is the ThinkNIC "New
Internet Computer", the brainchild of Oracle founder, Larry Ellison,
however just because nothing can be easy, their online information is
sadly lacking - however you can call them on 1-877-WANT-NIC
(1-877-926-8642) - Their website is at http://www.thenicstore.com/nic/
I am sorry I can't provide any more concrete leads, but it seems that
the internet appliance market has dried up somewhat. One reason for
this is possibly a lack of flexibility that people quickly find they
want.
Let me know if these options don't pan out for you, and perhaps I can
suggest alternative, but if you are set on an internet appliance,
these seem to be your most likely options.
Regards,
sycophant-ga
|
Clarification of Question by
reb-ga
on
22 Jan 2003 16:53 PST
Thank you. You have corroborated what I was coming to conclude, that
the products that have come out have been very transient so far.
ThinkNIC sounds interesting, but the company so far does seem to have
a very serious deficiency in product information and in customer
service. I wonder if the product is more reliable than the people who
sell it seem to be.
reb-ga
|
Request for Question Clarification by
sycophant-ga
on
22 Jan 2003 21:25 PST
From my recollection, and a few articles I stumbled upon when
researching, ThinkNIC made a big noise when they entered the market,
mainly around two points: 1) Larry Ellison was involved and 2) It is
built on Linux and open source products.
However, when it became apparent that the demand wasn't there, they
seem to have backed down quietly and retreated, although indications
on the site are that they are still in business, and still selling the
product, but possibly not single units anymore.
Beyond that, I can't really 'answer' your question, but to say that it
doesn't seem that the product you are looking for is really available
in a practical way anymore.
If the infomation I have found is satisfactory to you, I will be happy
to post it as an answer, otherwise feel free to leave the question
open for others in case I have missed something.
Regards,
sycophant-ga
|
Clarification of Question by
reb-ga
on
23 Jan 2003 05:33 PST
Hello sycophant,
Yes, you have answered the question certainly to merit the fee, which
is modest.
This type of product is surprisingly obscure to me. I am not sure all
possibilities have been explored, but I really did not expect anybody
to do that, and I think you did quite well.
The NIC people are in business, and they say they do sell individual
units and plenty of them, but so far they themselves seem to know very
little about it, and nobody seems to know or be willing to endorse
their quality.
Many thanks for your attention,
reb-ga
|
Clarification of Question by
reb-ga
on
23 Jan 2003 12:17 PST
Hello sycophant-ga,
Please do post your answer, and claim the modest reward.
I think it is the least you deserve.
Many thanks,
reb-ga
|
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