email undiscovered, and CTCH has it in 16 different languages (article from CNBC):
STOCKS ANALYSIS
Oct 28 1999 1:01PM ET
More on Nuthin But Net...
IBM, Rivals Work to Keep E-Mail Simple
by Brooke Crothers
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Special to CNBC.com
Screen phones that can deliver e-mail and Internet data, such as one IBM {IBM} is
planning, could become the household computer of the future -- if their simplicity
attracts new users.
Internet access without the cost and complexity of a PC is the humble idea
behind a smattering of devices now on the market and a welter of products
expected to appear over the next several years.
IBM 52-week stock performance chart
Later this year, computer giant IBM is expected to release a "countertop"
device to Internet service providers and telecommunications companies,
according to sources familiar with Big Blue's plans. The move would be a first
for IBM.
"This is selling hardware and software to a whole new breed of customers," one
source says.
Acer too has indicated it will come out with screen phones. Such devices would
rival products already supplied by smaller companies such as Cidco Inc. {CDCO}
and InfoGear.
All these point to a future where small, dedicated computers populate the
kitchen, den, and bedroom. Even as desktop PCs grow in power and
sophistication, newer "information appliances" are predicated not on having the
latest-and-greatest technology but on surprisingly plain means of delivering
e-mail or Internet services. The no-frills format is intended to attract low-tech
consumers.
About 50 million households in the United States are without a PC or Internet
connection, according to Kevin Hause, an analyst at International Data Corp.
The growth of information appliances could reduce that number.
"This is a chance for others to feel connected," Hause says. "This allows you to
communicate with family and friends without investing the money and time that
a PC requires."
The IBM device, for example, is planned as a "screen with a phone" for a very
specialized purpose: one-button access to the Internet.
"This is single-purpose. . .getting on the Internet fast. They [IBM] won't do
Windows," the source says, implying that the operating system software won't
come from Microsoft Corp. {MSFT}, whose PC products can be exasperatingly
complex and saddle users with lengthy delays in getting started.
Big Blue's Internet phone will be supplied by IBM's increasingly powerful
technology group, which has recently cut a raft of multibillion-dollar deals with
companies such as Cisco Systems Inc. {CSCO}, Dell Computer Corp. {DELL},
and EMC Corp. {EMC}.
Cidco's e-message device, supplied to SBC Communications Inc. {SBC}
subsidiaries Southwestern Bell and Pacific Bell, is similar in design.
The low-cost product, which came on the market in September, is essentially a
phone with a compact, integrated keyboard and a small LCD screen. It looks
hauntingly like some of the earliest computers from Tandy Corp. {TAN}, and its
software too seems comparatively simple, because it's designed to be a
low-cost, limited-purpose appliance, not a fancy, multipurpose computer.
E-message, which came out in September, costs $179 for the device and $7.95
for monthly service.
Telephone carriers are targeting the device at newcomers.
"Out the door, we're targeting inexperienced users," says John Blinkiewiz, a
product manager at SBC. "You get into the data-oriented world of today without
a huge purchase decision."
"Seventy percent of the people have not discovered the 'killer app' of the decade
-- e-mail," says a Pacific Bell representative, alluding to the potentially large
latent market demand for electronic messages.
Pacific Bell is offering the e-message statewide in California, while
Southwestern Bell is marketing it in Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma,
and Texas.
The market for this type of device is now relatively small, in the hundreds of
thousands, Hause says. But Infogear nonetheless sells about 200,000
annually, he says. The relatively unknown company has accordingly received
funding from Cisco Systems, Intel Corp. {INTC}, and MediaOne Ventures.
Such investments, along with the efforts by IBM and Pacific Bell, can be
interpreted as endorsements of the concept, Hause adds. Cidco's stock has
bounced from a 52-week low of $1.62 to close yesterday at just above $11.
Not everyone agrees the market exists, waiting to be tapped. "The phone is a
appliance optimized for one purpose. . .it's not a computer. As soon as you try
to do something different you foul it up," says Frank Dzubeck, president of
Communications Network Architects, a consulting firm.
"Once you go beyond [the single-purpose appliance] then the frustration level
goes up" and defeats the purpose of appealing to inexperienced users,
Dzubeck says.
Dzubeck adds that most current screen-phone users aren't neophytes but
experienced PC users looking for an inexpensive way to get secondary e-mail
access. SBC's Blinkiewiz concurs to an extent, stating that some experienced
users are using the device as a second e-mail account.
Some inexperienced users may quickly want to move beyond simplistic devices
once they see there's more to the Internet experience than just e-mail,
Blinkiewiz adds.
Such demands would likely force manufacturers to bring more functions to tiny
screens.
"Later we'll offer more content -- news, sports, stocks," says the Pacific Bell
representative, who admits that some will graduate to a PC when they crave
more features.
In the more-distant future, analysts envision more-sophisticated devices that are
attached to a speedy home network.
"I have this vision of the 'kitchen magnet PC,' a flat-panel-based,
color-coordinated panel that sticks to the refrigerator. It is heavy on voice in and
output, can be used as a phone, auto dialer, [or] Web browser," says Roger
Kay of IDC. "[You could] watch kids in other rooms using embedded
videocams."
The Wireless World Also Beckons
Meanwhile, Internet access for the masses may not be limited to home
devices. Palm computers or new-fangled cell phones may also provide
high-bandwidth access to the Internet and e-mail services, no matter where you
are.
Phones, such as Qualcomm Inc.'s {QCOM} pdQ smartphone, are already
available, touting e-mail and Web browsing. But the wireless infrastructure to
support Web browsing and e-mail is embryonic and often tenuous.
The pdQ smartphone boasts the basics for a wireless Internet device: a
relatively large LCD display, e-mail software, and a Web browser. When
connected to a Web site, the stripped-down browser accesses only text data
sites because it's not powerful enough to handle graphics.
The e-mail application conserves data bandwidth resources too, receiving mail
titles only. Users can then choose which messages they want to download and
read, according to a Qualcomm representative. Because it only has two
megabytes of memory, users have "to be cognizant of the size of messages"
and attachments are a no-no, the representative says.
Connection speeds resemble the personal computer of 1993, offering a
maximum of 14.4 kilobits per second. Nonetheless, in North America, Airtouch,
and Bell Mobility of Canada, and Sprint Corp. {PCS} have begun offering
wireless services for these devices.
"I've heard a dozen complaints in the last few days about connection problems,"
Dzubeck says. "[The companies will] tell you they're great, but I've heard
otherwise."
"Wireless data services have only really been around for six months [in the
United States]," the Qualcomm representative says.
Dzubeck says it boils down to coverage area and technological impediments,
such as the design of the interface. Many of these phones require incessant
drilling down to get to features and text "runs tremendously" off the screen.
"We're now in the phase where we're working through the deficiencies,"
Dzubeck says. Suppliers are now assimilating the shortcomings and will come
out with better products, he adds.
Ultimately, palm computers will metamorphose into the most-compelling
wireless Internet devices, Dzubeck says, "just like IBM did with its ThinkPad
[notebook PC] keyboard; you might have a device with a screen that butterflies
[expands] out."
Faster speeds will be necessary. Qualcomm says it's working to deliver up to
64 kilobits per second. But this will be implemented in Japan first, a country
that is ahead of the U.S. in wireless communications.
Feedback | Copyright | Usage Agreement | Privacy Policy | Linking Policy | Online Tour
|
