Busy families can always use help with organization communication and convenient access to the Internet for news weather shopping and Web surfing. Enter the 3Com Ergo Audrey ($500 street) 3Com's new eye-catching Internet appliance. The Audrey connects to most ISPs (but not AOL) through an analog phone line or a broadband connection -- a breakthrough for an Internet appliance -- so you can use your existing ISP or broadband connection. Audrey supports a single ISP for an e-mail account and Internet access. You can synchronize the Audrey's PIM with two Palm PDAs running Palm OS 1.0 and higher. Printing is optional with compatible Canon USB printers (BJC-85 BJC-85W and BJC-2100). After a few days of use you might wonder how your family managed without the Audrey.
the Audrey is designed to coordinate with home décor in high-traffic locations such as a kitchen or family room. It measures 9 by 11.8 by 3 inches (HWD) weighs 4.1 pounds and can be used either in an upright position or when laid flat. The Audrey's 7.6-inch diagonal 640- by 480-dpi VGA resolution 12-bit color touch-screen is legible from a distance of several feet with a side viewing angle of about 45 degrees. A 5-inch translucent stylus mounts prominently in a top-panel slot and flashes bright green along with the e-mail button when a message is received or to signal an appointment recorded in the PIM. The infrared keyboard has reasonably ample 17-mm key spacing (versus 19-mm on desktop keyboards) but at 9.6 ounces (including two double-A batteries) it is so light that it bounces a bit if you have a heavy typing hand. The keyboard isn't immersible but it can be cleaned with window cleaner and a damp cloth.
Internet appliances don't compete with regular PCs but for the record the Audrey's innards include a 200-MHz Geode GX1 processor 16MB of ROM 32MB of RAM (1MB reserved for e-mail) and an upgradable version of the QNX 2000 operating system with HotSync capability. There are two stereo speakers on the top panel an external speaker jack a microphone and a 56K v.90 modem. On the back Attaching cables was tough with the shield on-so take it off during setup.
ISP setup via the Audrey wizard is quick with either a phone line or broadband connection. For a broadband connection you need an Ethernet cable and a 3Com USB Ethernet adapter ($60 street) other USB Ethernet adapters are not supported. The Audrey can't function as a client on your home network but you can enjoy faster response with a broadband connection than with a telephone modem connection.
You can store credit card information to simplify Internet shopping but if you don't want to make it too easy for every family member to charge Internet purchases you can password-protect the Audrey. If you forget the password the Audrey will prompt you to answer a predetermined hint question. Fail to come up with that answer and you lose access to all stored data and will have to delete it and start over.
In addition to the touch screen the user interface includes six icon-labeled buttons that launch applications and an Internet Channels dial all positioned around the display. Screen navigation is smooth with the aid of large on-screen action buttons horizontal and vertical scroll bars and menu lists. The Audrey's applications are family-friendly including a clipboard feature for transferring information between applications.
From the Date Book you can check your appointments and a zip-code weather forecast. Multiple calendars have color-coded views with an option to view a consolidated household schedule. You can either type or scribble (hand write) Date Book entries but Address Book entries require keyboard use. The Audrey's Address Book conveniently integrates with its Date Book Browser and Mail applications.
You can access the Internet via the browser or use the Channels dial to choose from a range of selected Web sites formatted for the Audrey by 3Com partners including ABC News AccuWeather CBS MarketWatch and ESPN. Channels are updated automatically according to a schedule you determine
The browser handles frames JavaScript (but not Java) Macromedia Flash JPEG GIF and RealAudio -- and a future version will add MP3 capability. There are two cool unique features: a button to add URLs to your Address Book for attaching to e-mail and a snapshot function for grabbing portions of Web pages for storage in your Address Book or for immediate e-mail attachment.
We tested the Audrey with an Excite@Home cable modem connection through our home network and with a telephone line connection to EarthLink with reliable Internet access using both methods and fantastic performance with the broadband connection. Internet browsing PIM synchronization with a Palm III and two-way e-mail in typed handwritten (sent as JPEG attachments) and audio (WAV files up to 3 minutes in length) formats worked without errors. We hit the Audrey's 400K-per-message limit when retrieving e-mail with large digital image files attached requiring us to go to our PC to retrieve long messages.
Audrey accessories with pricing to be announced on the product's Web site will include a wall mount extra styli a travel case Palm serial cradles and a USB Ethernet adapter. AT&T WorldNet Service is available at a $5 per month discount to Audrey users. After the first 90 days of free technical support phone support is available at $2.50 per minute.
There were good reasons to hold off from purchasing earlier Internet appliances because of limited browsers and the need to setup yet another ISP and e-mail account. The 3Com Audrey has succeeded in changing our attitude on Internet appliances from wait-and-see to buy-the-Audrey-now.
From the Date Book you can check your appointments and a zip-code weather forecast. Multiple calendars have color-coded views with an option to view a consolidated household schedule. You can either type or scribble (hand write) Date Book entries but Address Book entries require keyboard use. The Audrey's Address Book conveniently integrates with its Date Book Browser and Mail applications.
You can access the Internet via the browser or use the Channels dial to choose from a range of selected Web sites formatted for the Audrey by 3Com partners including ABC News AccuWeather CBS MarketWatch and ESPN. Channels are updated automatically according to a schedule you determine the OS and browser are also updated during channel updates.
The browser handles frames JavaScript (but not Java) Macromedia Flash JPEG GIF and RealAudio -- and a future version will add MP3 capability. There are two cool unique features: a button to add URLs to your Address Book for attaching to e-mail and a snapshot function for grabbing portions of Web pages for storage in your Address Book or for immediate e-mail attachment.
We tested the Audrey with an Excite@Home cable modem connection through our home network and with a telephone line connection to EarthLink with reliable Internet access using both methods and fantastic performance with the broadband connection. Internet browsing PIM synchronization with a Palm III and two-way e-mail in typed handwritten (sent as JPEG attachments) and audio (WAV files up to 3 minutes in length) formats worked without errors. We hit the Audrey's 400K-per-message limit when retrieving e-mail with large digital image files attached requiring us to go to our PC to retrieve long messages.
Audrey accessories with pricing to be announced on the product's Web site will include a wall mount extra styli a travel case Palm serial cradles and a USB Ethernet adapter. AT&T WorldNet Service is available at a $5 per month discount to Audrey users. After the first 90 days of free technical support phone support is available at $2.50 per minute.
There were good reasons to hold off from purchasing earlier Internet appliances because of limited browsers and the need to setup yet another ISP and e-mail account. The 3Com Audrey has succeeded in changing our attitude on Internet appliances from wait-and-see to buy-the-Audrey-now. | | Can send e-mail to groups or lists -Yes
Dimensions (HWD) 9 x 11.8 x 3
Display size (diagonal) 7.6 in.
Display type Touch screen
E-mail attachments user can send WAV GIF
E-mail attachments user can view WAV GIF JPEG
E-mail notification via LED Yes
E-mail storage space allotment 1 MB
Number of e-mail accounts 1
Number of RJ-11 jacks 2
Printer compatibility Canon USB printers
User can keep own ISP Yes
Infrared keyboard Yes
Supports broadband Yes
Syncs with Palm Yes |
Benefits: | Synchronize up to two Palm Pilots
Great for use as a date book and calendar
Great for use as an address book
Includes touch screen functionality plus wireless keypad
Surf the web
Email your friends and family Notice: Channel features as described in the operating manual will not be operational. |
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This product is Refurbished and comes with the following warranty:
• This product comes with a 30 day warranty.
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