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| Industry Perspective The Internet Appliance Future Internet appliances are those devices that provide you with Internet access and e-mailing capabilities and nothing more. Essentially, they’re stripped down versions of traditional desktop computers complete with a monitor, mouse, and keyboard. However, they contain only a small storage device such as a hard disk and they only contain enough RAM for you to run e-mail software and enjoy surfing the Web. These types of devices may certainly enable information filtering on a broad scale because of their affordability. You can buy many Internet appliances for as little as $99. Of course, you still have to pay a monthly fee for Internet access. Because they are so affordable, many homes are opting for Internet appliances instead of full-scale desktop or notebook computers. And, as more homes have Internet access, more businesses will be better able to determine the wants and needs of people. Those same businesses can then “push” information, products, and services to homes that would otherwise not have the technology in place. The growth of Internet appliance purchases is certainly staggering. According to IDC, 18.5 million Internet appliances were to be shipped to U.S. households in 2001, compared with only 15.7 million traditional desktops and notebooks. And, by the end of 2002, the Internet appliance market is expected to reach $15.3 billion. We are certainly seeing explosive growth in this area. Time will only tell if Internet appliances are a standard product of the future or just a fad. If you’re interested in learning more about popular Internet appliances, we recommend that you search the Web for the following products:
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