Sony pulls plug on Net appliance

SAN FRANCISCO: Sony Corp. announced it has pulled the plug on its e Villa
Internet appliance, marking the latest major failure to carve a niche in the PC
market for a cheap email and net-surfing platform.

Sony, an electronics giant, discontinued the product on August 30 and is
offering to buy back the roughly $500 machines and refund costs linked to the
dedicated online service, which will end on September 13, Sony said on its
evilla.com web site.

Sony joins 3Com Corp., the inventor of the Palm Pilot, which abandoned its
Audrey net device in March when sales lagged expectations among high-profile
electronics firms failing to crack the Internet appliance market.

Many reviewers were pressed to recommend a device that had less functionality
than only slightly more expensive personal computers, whose makers are slashing
prices to gain ground in the shrinking market.

Sony also faced a more practical problem with the future of the e Villa
operating system, developed by Be Inc. Be Inc. said earlier this month that it
would liquidate after selling assets and technology to Palm. But Palm said it
did not plan to take on the e Villa license. Sony had introduced the short-lived
e Villa earlier this summer. Officials were not available immediately for
comment.

(C) Reuters Limited 2001.