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No computer? No problem
Game machines, set-top boxes connect to Web
June 23, 1997
Web posted at: 6:11 a.m. EDT (1011 GMT)From CNN Interactive Writer Andy Walton
ATLANTA (CNN) -- Not too long ago, it would have been safe to assume that anyone reading this page was sitting behind a computer.
Now, all kinds of machines, more limited but far cheaper than full-fledged PCs, are getting connected to the Net. Several of the new browsers strutted their stuff at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, E3 for short, in Atlanta, which ended Saturday.
Taking the cake for originality among the new Web-capable devices was game.com, from Tiger Electronics. The $70 machine is expected to ship by the end of the month and is Tiger's entry into the portable cartridge game market, one that has been dominated for years by Nintendo's Game Boy.
"The technology for Game Boy has basically remained unchanged for over ten years," said Tiger's Allen Richardson.
With a point-and-tap stylus and a built-in calendar and address book, game.com falls somewhere between a game machine and hand-held computer like Newton's Message Pad.
The $20 Internet cartridge, which was not available for review, will come with a cable that connects the game.com to a standard modem cable; Tiger also plans to sell its own modem.
Game.com is too bulky for a pocket, won't connect to PCs (although two game.com's will connect to each other for head-to-head games), and has a display with four levels of gray. Little about the device is cutting-edge.
"We really wanted to keep the price down in a reasonable range," Richardson said. "We wanted someone to be able to hook up to the Internet at an inexpensive price point, someone who doesn't have e-mail, or someone whose first experience with e-mail for their children could be game.com."
The Internet cartridge connects to the Net via Delphi with text-only web browsing and e-mail. While the array of services is not particularly impressive to the technologically jaded, there's no cheaper Internet appliance.
At least until someone designs a Web browser for a toaster oven.
Surfing with Sega
Another option for low-cost surfing on display at E3 was the Sega Saturn game console. Sega's NetLink device, geared toward multiplayer games, also comes with the PlanetWeb browser, on display in one small corner of Sega's massive show booth.
PlanetView, an online service for NetLink owners, is advertised as working with most Internet service providers, and is free for the first six months.
A major PlanetView selling point is it's filtering capability. The feature allows worried parents to filter the Web with preset criteria of acceptable material for viewing. Sex, violence, advertising and alternate lifestyles sites can all be put off limits. Pages that don't fit the profile, according to PlanetView's database, won't load.
As an example of PlanetView's filtering criteria, cnn.com's profile is:
http://cnn.com/ Violence : non-gratuitous torture/death Sex : connotations Alt. Lifestyles : mention Politics : information Text : older children Maturity : yesBut what if I lose the clicker?
WebTV Networks, a Microsoft subsidiary, demonstrated its device in living-room-like alcoves at its E3 booth. The original non-computer browser and segment heavyweight, WebTV has been shipping for several months.
Actually, the $300 set-top box is a computer, of sorts, minus the hard disk and floppy drive. Printing is promised in the near future; an adapter for some Hewlett-Packard ink-jet printers was demonstrated at E3.
With no mouse, trackball, or pad, navigating on a WebTV is a bit odd for veteran Web browsers. Cursor-like buttons on the remote send surfers skittering across the Web, while cursor keys on the optional keyboard feel more familiar to computer stalwarts. Several vendors produce WebTV hardware -- including some built into TV sets -- but all connect to the same network and feature the same basic functions.
If the displays by WebTV and others proved anything at E3, it's that the race to the Web is on, but the prize elusive.
Related stories:
- Interactive equal opportunity - June 22, 1997
- E3: a whiz-bang preview of next year's digital thrills - June 21, 1997
- Whiz bang boom -- the latest in Internet games - June 20, 1997
- CNN's Computer Connection - The Electronic Entertainment Expo.
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