The race to build a more user-friendly Internet device will heat up Monday when Diba and Mitsubishi Electronics America plan to announce a partnership that will put the heart of these information applications cheaply into developers' hands.
Mitsubishi and Diba are collaborating to build a component platform that they claim will cut the costs of building information appliances by at least 50 percent. The platform includes a combination microprocessor and memory chip, and Diba's operating system and browser software. The companies said a logic board with the processing chips and integrated software would be available to developers for US$100 starting in the second quarter of 1997.
In subsequent revisions of the hardware planned for next year, the components will get smaller and the overall price less expensive, said John Zucker, executive vice president of Mitsubishi's device group.
The information appliance bids to simplify the Internet and electronic communications by breaking down their functionality into bite-sized pieces. Each piece focuses on a single function, resulting in a machine that hides the computer from the user in way a consumer electronics device does.
For example, an email machine would closely resemble a phone. Software would be pre-loaded and users would no longer have to use menus and windows to access email. Instead, they would push buttons for specific functions, such as read, write and create mail.
John Bush, Diba vice president for business partnerships, said he expects to see devices for home banking that would let users dial into Wells Fargo's network and conduct transactions along with other machines for booking travel arrangements.
Bush said the plug-and-play approach for developers will help them meet Diba's price goal that these devices cost no more than US$300. In addition, developers will be able to bring products to market faster, he said.
In addition to providing software and hardware, the two companies will also assist developers in customizing software for their needs.
