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Audrey for Your Home

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PCQ Bureau
New Update

3Com

has introduced an Internet appliance called Audrey, which brings the convenience

of an organizer and Internet connectivity together. Audrey also marks the debut

of 3Com’s Ergo line of lifestyle-centered connected appliances.

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Audrey is a device that your entire household can use to

organize themselves, and to connect to the Internet. It has a date book where

various family members can store their schedules, an address book to store names

and addresses, a built-in browser, and e-mail. You can type your mail using its

wireless keyboard (which hangs at the back of the device when not in use), write

on its touchscreen with the stylus, or speak your message out. There are various

tools like cut-paste, copy, etc, to help you out. The stylus lights up in its

holder when you have new mail, and the built-in microphone helps to read out

your mail to you. You access these features of Audrey from the various buttons

on the device.

Audrey comes with pre-selected Web channels that give content

like weather, news, sports, stock quotes, and entertainment. These can be

accessed from the channel knob below the screen. You can customize some of

these, like weather and stock quotes, and select up to six more channels. It

also comes with a built-in V.90 56K modem.

Up to two Palm devices can HotSync with Audrey. So, you can

synchronize your entire family’s schedule in a single, color-coded calendar in

Audrey’s date book, or create a family address book in the device.

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Audrey has a 6.25"x4.75" color touchscreen, serial

ports for Palm devices, and 2 USB ports for peripherals like printers. So, if

you want to print out your e-mail, for instance, you can connect a new Canon

BubbleJet printer that’s supported by the device. Audrey has built-in stereo

speakers and a microphone that help to read out your e-mail, and audio output

for external speakers. It runs on the QNX operating system and Palm HotSync

technology. Any system software upgrades are received transparently over the

Internet.

Audrey is available in five colors, at prices starting at

$499. You can buy it online at www.3com.com/ergo, or wait for the product to hit

Indian shores.

Pragya Madan

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