3Com Axes Audrey

Posted By: Ed Wednesday, March 21, 2001 4:58:03 PM

Though it was only introduced a few months ago, 3Com has already discontinued the Audrey, its countertop Internet appliance with built-in Palm support. The Audrey had an 8 inch, color, touch screen, a wireless keyboard, used a combination of the Palm and QNX Linux OSs and could also sync directly to Palm-based handhelds. It will probably still be available until June.

Today, 3Com reported a $122.8 million loss for its third quarter. "The abruptness and severity of the current technology slowdown has clearly impacted 3Com,'' Bruce Claflin, 3Com chief executive, said in a statement. "While 3Com has maintained or increased market share in its key segments, these gains were not sufficient to offset the decline in the industry.''

The company is shutting down its entire Internet appliance division it created last year. It is also discontinuing the Kerbango, an Internet radio.

3Com's Audrey Debuts

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Sell to Palm Inc. cheaply

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/21/2001 5:15:48 PM #

Perhaps a little diversion for the Palm group, but it would still be a good extension of the product line. Just need to fix the shortcomings of the product.

What did you expect...

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/21/2001 5:50:06 PM #

What do you expect if you model your appliance to look like the cistern on a toilet (even has a button on the front to flush!!!)

That's where it is heading....

RE: What did you expect...

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/21/2001 8:04:49 PM #

Damn, That was short lived...

Does kind of look like a toilet come to think of it.

Overpriced and does too little

Legible @ 3/22/2001 12:06:19 AM #

US$500 is a bit too much just to pay for a console with limited functionality. I can get a used PC with a lot more capability at that price. I guess it is this kind of logic that will keep consumers away from internet appliances that are overpriced and do too little. Other manufacturers beware!

RE: Overpriced and does too little

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/22/2001 4:10:46 AM #

I truly agree. That and the fact that it REALLY looks like a "loo appliance" instead of the Internet's! And for crying out loud - why the name Audrey?? We have a ladies' undergarments branded that here in Asia!! And by the way, it never got to our shores .... thank God!

Audrey Awry

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/22/2001 12:46:36 AM #

I find it hard to believe the very same company that once had Palm in its fold could come up with something as uninspiring and equally awfully named product as the Audrey. The product pricing is squeezed between a Palm and a cheap PC with the only hope in that it should be easier to use and setup then a PC but offers more than a Palm.

That's a very narrow gap if you ask me and looks like 3Com just couldn't squeeze in. If anything, Palm should be the one coming up with an "Audrey" and hopefully not call it that and really, the design of this appliance does look like a cistern.

Maybe Palm can then bundle that product with their MyPalm and/or Palm.net service. I do feel sorry for 3Com. They had to spin off their hottest product line and they thought they could get a little of it through Audrey. I like what they do with their micro-servers and maybe they should concentrate more on that. Build digital nervous systems for the home and small offices and let Palm do the rest.

The loss of the Kerbango is even sadder

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/22/2001 8:26:04 AM #

While the Audrey wasn't a big loss, I feel the loss of the Kerbango is much more important. I really think the Kerbango was a truly visionary product and I think that it will make people really think twice about purchasing Internet applicances that are dependent upon the company to support them.

Who cares?

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/22/2001 2:41:11 PM #

What did this obviously useless gizmo really have to do with the Palm OS anyway? If it had been manufactured by anyone other than Palm's former parent, 3Com, I doubt any of the Palm sites would've ever mentioned it.

Also, FYI, it did *not* run the Palm OS in any shape or form. I'm not sure where his misinformation is coming from, but this is the second Palm "news" site to get this wrong (the other being PalmStation), so I suspect you guys are just copying the same thing from one another. Time to get another source. ;-)

You are incorrect

Ed @ 3/22/2001 3:20:52 PM #

Here's a quote from a Cnet article:

> Audrey uses the QNX operating system, mixed
> with elements of the Palm operating system,
> allowing the device to sync directly to up to two
> Palm or Handspring handhelds.

http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-202-3216331.html

---
Plenipotentiary
Palm Infocenter

RE: Who cares?

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/22/2001 6:04:37 PM #

The articles don't say it RUNS the PalmOS, but that it has support for PalmOS (ie you can sync your Palm OS device with it)

RE: Who cares?

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/22/2001 8:51:28 PM #

Hmm...

You can sync your Palm to Outlook, Yahoo, and a bazillion other things. None of them have any "elements of the Palm OS."

Besides, the fact that it was on CNET should be reason enough to assume that it's incorrect. ;)

it does _not_ run linux also :)

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 3:02:33 AM #

|used a combination of the Palm and QNX Linux OSs

FWIW, QNX is _not_ a linux os, it's something very different. Just because it's posix-compatible and you can compile freeciv on it it doesn't mean qnx is another linux flavour.

It seems to me the source of this article is not very reliable regarding operating systems :)))

Palm OS and QNX

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/23/2001 10:24:09 AM #

The Audrey has some of the palm os ported to the device. The date book program uses the base code for the date book. This is so it can read the palm DB fo the date book. The Audrey will be missed by people who have used it. I received a demo unit to test some homeautomation items for 3com. The thing is kind of slick and the wife liked it, yea for once she like a tech device that I used. A few of us are putting together a co-op to buy out some of the stock. Have to see how it works out though....

Billy