Ray Van Eng (05/10/96)

Zenith Electronics and Diba, the two US firms will jointly develop a line of Internet-ready interactive TV named 'NetVision' which will have a price tag that starts from less than $1000 and will be available by Christmas this year. The 'NetVision' can be used to access email, run Java applets and watch tv programming.

The convergence of TV and computer technologies seems to be the latest fad with companies such as Sony and Gateway 200 venturing in this hybrid technology. However, Zenith is taking a different route than Gateway 2000 who is trying to fit a TV reception into a PC. The result, as a Zenith spokesman claimed, is that Zenith's product will be thousands of dollars cheaper than a Gateway 2000 device with a similar 27" TV screen.

Zenith said that the Interactive Digital Electronic Appliances (IDEAs) technology developed by Diba allows them to display "excellent" graphics on a standard TV screen.

Al Moschner, Zenith's president said, "We plan to offer a value-packed interactive device that makes perfect sense for TV viewers to access global information from the Internet."

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