This article begins to spell out why IATV is going to do so well in the future. Might IATV be talking with the likes of AOL for an interactive TV system or other interactive products, like CD's etc. AOL is talking about interactive TV and other devices and IATV has the best Technology out there. It's going to get very exciting for the owners of IATV in the near future.
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Step by Step, 'Internet Anywhere' Approaches
By Susan Moran
"You've got mail!" That buoyant phrase--familiar to America Online's 16 million subscribers--has yet to pop up from Web-enabled TVs, handheld devices, or interactive refrigerators, despite the company's year-old promises of various AOL-branded devices, starting with an AOL-TV. The online giant's reticence leaves some skeptics wondering if its "AOL Anywhere" initiative---an initiative designed to extend AOL's reach to non-PC appliances--should be renamed "AOL Where?" While AOL has done little more than drop hints over the past several months,analysts anticipate the company will start selling Web-enabled TVs--possibly AOL-branded ones--within a few months.
Wether AOL delivers sooner or later, a flurry of innovation is clearly taking place in the Internet appliance arena, with scrappy startups and entrenched behemoths alike encouraged by the stellar success of the Palm Pilot and the more debatable success of Microsoft's WebTV.
It's also clear that a major force fueling advances in devices is the Internet.Individuals want access to the burgeoning array of services on the Net-whether it be their stock portfolio, sports scores, political news, or their daily calendar--and not just from their personal computers stuck to their home or office desk.
Online service providers such as AOL, Yahoo, and Excite (soon to become part of @Home) are scrambling to grab a foothold in the delivery market so they can find new outlets for their content. This trend will likely help accelerate growth in the Net appliance market. Yahoo, Amazon.com, and other Internet companies, for example, have supported Alcatel, the French phone giant, in designing a phone that lets users' fingers do the walking to the Net, via a touchscreen.
"The Internet appliance space is wide open," said Seamus McAteer, an analyst at market research firm Jupiter Communications. He said that while he wasn't sure "how much meat has been added to the bones" of AOL's appliances strategy, the company definitely has software expertise and media expertise and "knows how to aggregate content in a way that resonates with the mass market." McAteer
believes AOL's biggest challenge will be retail distribution, getting whatever boxes or devices it decides to market into Circuit City and then homes.
As for portals, McAteer said Yahoo is now at the forefront among its rivals in the race to capture a broader audience--and thus more advertising and transaction dollars--beyond the PC. "They want to be on whatever is delivered, whether it's a cell phone, a Palm Pilot, or a WebTV, or cable digital set-top box," he said.
And it's not only Yahoo and AOL that are moving toward this market. Analysts expect to see more partnerships between those that deliver content--ISPs and marketers of consumer electronics equipment--and content providers."If you're a service provider, if you can create some exclusive partnerships with the delivery side, that'll get you into prime real estate, into the large number of devices and into homes," said Kevin Hause, an analyst at market research firm International Data Corp. (IDC). "And if you're on the delivery mechanism side, you're trying to add value to your service. You don't want to just be a pipe, when the value is what lies on top of the pipe." The rush to enter the market will not in vain. IDC projects that the U.S. market for non-PC consumer appliances (including Net TVs and set-top boxes, screen phones, gaming consoles, and handheld devices) will surge from 2 million shipped or activated units last year to nearly 21 million in the year 2002. By the year 2001, shipments of information appliances in the United States is expected to surpass that of consumer PCs.
Two things have been holding Net appliances up from proliferating faster: a lack of standards (helping disparate devices speak to one another) and steep prices. InfoGear's Web-enabled phone, for example, will cost between $300 and $400 when it starts selling in retail stores this fall. CMI Worldwide's kitchen a hybrid interactive TV/CD player, will cost between $750 and $2,000 when it hits stores in late summer.
Some PCs, meanwhile, are selling for about $400, leaving even some gadget freaks to hold back on stocking up on Net devices. The standards and pricing obstacles are being addressed, but the process will take some time. For now, AOL isn't tipping its hand. Company executives began using the phrase "AOL Anywhere" last May when AOL bought NetChannel, a deliverer of Web-based personalized television with what was then some 10,000 subscribers. Then, last November, when AOL announced it planned to acquire Netscape Communications and partner with Sun Microsystems, AOL chief executive officer Steve Case promised "a new generation of devices will emerge," thanks largely to Sun's Java technology.
AOL spokeswoman Trisha Primrose did little to lift the veil on plans. "We've made no announcements about platforms or partners, but certainly there's a notion to have an AOL TV product that's very consumer-focused," she offered after two weeks of requests by Internet World for an executive interview on topic. She recalled previous comments by AOL vice president Barry about AOL's vision of a connected home of the future, one in which even interactive refrigerator might have a place. Primrose declined comment on when the first of AOL's devices might emerge.
Sun executives are also keeping their lips sealed, but a spokeswoman said that Sun plans a significant announcement relating to Net appliances within the next couple of weeks. |
