Zilog takes aim at WebTV with January I-box intro

Electronic News, Dec 23, 1996 by Andrew MacLellan

Campbell, Calif.--True to its word (EN, Sept. 23), Zilog has thrown down the gauntlet and will issue a challenge next month to the Sony/Philips WebTV with an Internet appliance of its own.

Incorporating the graphics technology of Britain's MSU Corp., Zilog is positioning its Internet-Box (I-Box) set-top device as a lighter, lower-power, more fully-featured alternative to the WebTV (see related material, page 13). The I-Box also touts a retail tag of $200, less than two-thirds its competitor's price.

While it will presumably face other information appliance contenders, such as Apple's Pippin, the Diba-Zenith NetVision TV and Internet-enabled consoles from Sony and Sega--not to mention the much-hyped network computer, or NC--Zilog's I-Box is aiming to capitalize on the installed base of 800 million televisions already in use worldwide. The company is emphasizing ease of use, a familiar form factor and support for all Internet service providers (ISPs) over PC-like hybrids or WebTV's proprietary ISP.

Zilog president/CEO Edgar A. Sack envisions E-mail as the force behind sales of Internet appliances, driven by consumers who are more interested in sending messages and viewing specific sites than extensive browsing.

"Instant on is very important," said Dr. Sack. "I often compare my PC at home to using a diesel-powered Mercedes as a get-away car, whereas with the Internet appliance you can switch back and forth."

Inside the I-Box, the chipset combines Zilog's DSP processing with MSU's Internet Service Processor (iSP), leaving so little work for the host CPU that a 386 chip will provide sufficient horsepower. Included are an integrated digital sound and image processor, V.34 modem, 640 x 480 VGA with 65,000 colors and 2-D/3-D capability, ROM, RAM and 1MB of flash.

With a bill of materials to $99.50, the I-Box seeks to further assert itself by featuring a range of interfaces for infra-red remote and optional infrared keyboard, as well as standard outputs for a printer, PS/2 mouse and CD-ROM.

Dr. Sack said Zilog is in negotiations with unnamed systems OEMs interested in marketing and distributing the I-Box, and Zilog will also sell the device as the Web Passport through a series of planned "info-mercials."

Zilog also revealed plans that will allow it eventually to lower the retail cost of an optional keyboard to below $30.