Business
Brother plans Web portables
Japanese giant Brother hinted today it is developing a line of portable Web access devices for release next year. The devices will range from simple handhelds to Web-oriented notebooks.
The portable devices are likely to use Geoworks' GEOS operating system to display Web pages, and will use text-only monochrome screens until demand can be gauged, said a spokesman for Brother. A prototype device was shown to OEMs at the Las Vegas Comdex trade show last month, but Brother is keeping quiet over details.
The devices might use intelligent agents and personal profiles on the Web to facilitate information gathering, said the spokesman, but the devices will not be Network Computers (NCs): "We have no plans to go into NCs. We'll leave that to Sun and Oracle ... it's not a battle we want to fight."
Brother can be contacted by telephone on 0161-330 6531.