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The fabled Internet appliance gained a little more credibility Friday when Gateway announced its first device, designed to work with services from America Online.

Gateway promises the Connected Touch Pad will be easier to use than today's average PC. Despite its mission, the device is built from an interesting list of PC parts and software, including a Transmeta Crusoe processor, a Mobile Linux operating system, and the Gecko browser from Netscape. (See "Transmeta Tapped For Net Appliances.")

Gateway expects to begin shipping the $599 Touch Pad--which offers both touch pad and wireless keyboard input--by mid-December. That's also when the company will ship its new Gateway Connected Music Player, a $229 device for listening to and organizing music files.

Fruit of the Deal

Gateway and AOL announced a partnership in April, and the Touch Pad is the first device born of that deal. It comes loaded with AOL software that connects you to a custom service called Instant AOL. The Touch Pad automatically connects to Instant AOL when it's turned on, and the service offers AOL's basic content and services, including e-mail and news. (See "Gateway, AOL Team on Net Appliance.")

Gateway's deal with AOL is not exclusive, but right now it is the only option for Touch Pad users to get to Internet content and services, says Brad Williams, communications director at Gateway. However, the company may add other Internet service providers later, he says.

Connecting the Family, Electronically

Gateway fanatics with the Connected Touch Pad, the Connected Music Player, and other Gateway PCs can link them to create a home network via Gateway's new Connected Home system. The system uses regular phone jacks and features technology from Broadcom, Williams says. Gateway expects the package will also be available by mid-December.

Although you can use the Connected Touch Pad as a stand-alone machine, Gateway's vision for it and the Music Player is one of a home equipped with a variety of PCs and devices all networked and connected to the Internet, Williams says. That way everyone could have constant access to the Internet as well as the capability to communicate electronically with each other.

For example, the Connected Touch Pad is ideal for high-traffic areas in a home, such as the kitchen or living room. "Linking PCs and other devices to each other throughout the home adds a new level of convenience and usefulness," says Jeff Weitzen, Gateway's president and chief operating officer.

Gateway plans to launch products in 2001 that will extend the scope of networked and Internet-enabled home devices to include things such as music systems, telephones, and televisions. A wireless Web pad that connects to the Internet is also in the works, says a company spokesperson.

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