Audrey: The Early 2000’s Failed Internet Appliance

Around 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 along came 3Com’s Audrey. Sources: AOL commercial: Audrey Hepburn photo: Audrey in kitchen photo: “Chic Internet Access With 3Com’s Audrey,“ PC World, December 2000. Yellow Audrey photo: Mint green Audrey photo: Black Audrey photo: “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: Circuit City commercial: “Strictly For the Web,“ Popular Science, November 2000. “Compaq pulls iPaq Internet Appliance,“ Gateway commercial: “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: :// Audrey Unofficial Hack FAQ: :// “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 ----------------------------------------­------------------------------------- Please consider supporting my work on Patreon: Follow me on Twitter and Instagram! @thisdoesnotcomp ----------------------------------------­------------------------------------- Music by Epidemic Sound (). Intro music by BoxCat Games ().