With recent predictions of the demise of the struggling technology market where corporate downsizing and earnings warnings are the norm, what is the likelihood that a new class of computers dubbed "iAppliances" can rise above the adversity and move forward to capture the attention of consumers?

First, we must consider the fact that Netpliance, a pioneer in this market, terminated its i-Opener Internet appliance product line, followed by corporate giant, 3COM, who pulled the plug on and significantly reduced its high profile iAppliance product line, including the Audrey Internet terminal and the Kerbango Internet radio. Still, while these stories have contributed to the impression that the appliance market is in trouble, the reality is that the market for iAppliances continues to grow will most likely overcome these setbacks.

Kerbango Internet Radio

3Com Audrey Internet Terminal

Netpliance i-Opener Internet Terminal

On the Verge?

Diversity in the iAppliance market in terms of both the number of products being announced and the base technology in development, as well as in the types of iAppliances being introduced today, is very broad. In additon, the rate at which new iAppliance products and solutions are reaching the marketplace exceeds the media's and consumers' ability to classify and adopt the technology. Even so, what does this mean in today's tenuous marketplace? More than likely, growth will continue but at a more relaxed pace so that consumers can learn about the benefits of the new technology and integrate iAppliances into their lifestyles at work and at home.

Appliance Servers	Appliance Clients
3Com Home Ethernet Gateway	Casio Cassiopeia Pocket PC
uniView Model 110 Set Top Box	Hitachi ePlate Tablet
eSoft InstaGate Firewall/Gateway	Research-in-Motion Mobile Email Appliance
Appliance-Lab CyberSerial Internet Access Device	Ericsson R380 Mobile Email Appliance

Many of the iAppliance products launched over the past few years focused on client devices. These devices simplified user experience with the Internet. Some of the client appliances mimicked PC interfaces, like the browser, or copied familiar consumer devices like radios. Nearly all promised simplified, more intuitive interfaces to the Web for specific applications. Other devices, like tablets and smartphones, are completely redefining the experience of computing and communication.

Today, market acceptance of information appliance clients is progressing as consumers and manufacturers work together in the market to close in on the right value model and feature set, but this process is time consuming. Consider how many years it took for the automobile industry to migrate from the Model-T-- one style fits all--to the diverse range of brands, vehicle classes, and automobile models that are sold today. What we're talking about is mass specialization of the computing industry.

Less flashy appliance server platforms, gateways, SOHO servers, firewall/security appliances, networked storage devices, set-top-boxes, and Internet access devices are all experiencing market growth adoption as well. This category of appliance is driven both by service providers and developers fulfilling the basic requirements of enabling Internet and broadband connectivity, new areas of networking such as home and wireless networking, or simplifying network services, such as Web serving, e-commerce, e-mail, and voice-over-IP, among others.

Definition of an iAppliance

So, what is an iAppliance? First, iAppliance refers to an information appliance. A subset of information appliances is Internet appliances. Internet appliances use the Internet for connectivity, while information appliances can use wireless networking or other types of networking for connectivity.

A rudimentary definition of information appliances is:

in·form·a·tion ap·pli·ance (n.)

1. A specialized and limited function computing device that communicates with people or other systems either wirelessly or through the Internet and is both inexpensive and reasonably intuitive to install and operate.

This definition continues to evolve as the industry invents itself. In public and private forums, experts, marketers, and the press debate the best spin to put on the term iAppliance.

Traditionally the term appliance is defined as:

ap·pli·ance(n.)

1. A device or instrument designed to perform a specific function, especially an electrical device, such as a toaster, for household use.

So, appliances are necessarily simple to use, electronic, and application specific. The adjective "information" infers digital information, and that translates to computing in this case. While the term appears to be universally used in the press, among analysts and in the market there are significant discrepancies in the way the term information appliance is applied. Some people believe information appliance refers only to wired Internet terminal products like the Audrey or the i-Opener. Others advocate a broader definition encompassing not only Internet terminals, but a number of other market segments consisting of both client and server devices.

The use of the term appliance can apply equally well to both client and server devices. Furthermore, the base technology used in client and server information appliances such as embedded processors, operating systems, and application software frameworks is very similar. In both cases, simplifying the user experience, whether serving information onto a network, or gathering information off of a network is the same. This is possible because with the adoption of the Internet, computing itself was fundamentally simplified.

Another objection to this definition is the emphasis placed on cost. It begs the question: inexpensive relative to what? Since information appliances are computing devices, the PC is the nearest point of reference. PCs are designed to meet a wide variety of general computing applications. With the PC, one computer is designed to fit all needs. Appliances, on the other hand, are application specific, so they can be more intuitive or transparent to the user. However, they should also cost less than the more general solution, the PC.

Another question that should be addressed relates to conventional appliances that are now being wired. For instance, is a refrigerator that connects to the Internet an iAppliance? Probably not. However, the component that provides the interface, whether it's an Internet tablet or Internet access device (IAD), probably is an information appliance.