Audrey: The Early 2000's Failed Internet Appliance
8,441Around the turn of the millennium, prices on computers fell dramatically and interest in exploring the Internet grew sharply. But not everyone wanted to deal with the hassle and confusion of using a PC just to surf the Web...so along came 3Com's Audrey.
Sources:
AOL commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQcCnPWHlLk
Audrey Hepburn photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/colorizedimages/37350960041
Audrey in kitchen photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajturner/415882380/
"Chic Internet Access With 3Com's Audrey," PC World, December 2000.
Yellow Audrey photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/petsroar/6148745064/
Mint green Audrey photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gadge/35071532151/
Black Audrey photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/extrea/2080003799/
"The Bad, the Ugly, and the Just Plain Dumb," PC Magazine, September 4, 2001.
"Second Looks," PC Magazine, September 20, 2001.
"Are PCs Toast? Internet Appliances Arrive," PC World, November 2000.
eMachine tower photo: https://never-obsolete.tumblr.com/post/685257509122998272/emachines-etower-500is
Circuit City commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTpVWSQ3Zy0
"Strictly For the Web," Popular Science, November 2000.
"Compaq pulls iPaq Internet Appliance," https://www.computerworld.com/article/2586632/compaq-pulls-ipaq-internet-appliance----for-now.html
Gateway commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duwqWCNuEmI
"3Com spins off Palm Computing division," NetworkWorld, September 20, 1999.
"3Com exits the enterprise," InfoWorld, March 27, 2000.
"'Net apps latest casualties of 3Com," NetworkWorld, March 26, 2001.
"3Com woes mounting," NetworkWorld, March 5, 2001.
"3Com taps Huawei for 'comeback' try," NetworkWorld, June 16, 2003.
"Hewlett-Packard to Acquire 3Com," The New York Times, November 11, 2009.
Audrey software shell photo: https://web.archive.org/web/20041017094935/http://www.sowbug.com/audrey/owned.jpg
Audrey Unofficial Hack FAQ: https://web.archive.org/web/20020602143516/http://www.3rdmoon.com/crusso/audrey/
"Technology Sell-Off May Bring Shakeout of Dot-Com Concerns," The New York Times, April 17, 2000.
00:00 - Introduction
00:36 - Family, meet Audrey
01:50 - A simple Internet appliance
02:52 - But also a personal organizer
04:49 - Reviews and impressions
05:25 - A total flop
07:01 - A flawed product with strong competition
08:51 - The downfall of 3Com
10:10 - A quiet legacy
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Music by Epidemic Sound (https://www.epidemicsound.com).
Intro music by BoxCat Games (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/BoxCat_Games).