AMD’s Low-Cost Net PC at Radio Shack

Radio Shack will be selling AMD-designed Personal Internet Communicators for $299, built using Windows CE and designed to provide Internet Access and basic computing.

Starting this weekend, consumer electronics retailer Radio Shack will begin selling Personal Internet Communicators, low-end PCs based on a design from chip-maker AMD and intended to provide Internet access and basic computing capabilities as an alternative to a traditional personal computer. Personal Internet Communicators are built using Windows CE and are intended to be bare-bones, reliable systems providing full-fledged Internet capabilities (like Web browsing and email) as well as basic applications (word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations) in a durable, simple form factor.

AMD originally conceived the Personal Internet Communicator as an alternative to personal computers for low-income consumers in developing nations as part of the company’s "50×15" initiative, whereby AMD wants to see 50 percent of the world’s population using personal computers by the year 2015. So far, telecommunications companies and cable operators have rolled out the machines to subscribers several nations, including Brazil, India, the Caribbean, and Mexico, with distribution expected to begin in Turkey, Russia, and China shortly. The systems are not intended to be a general-purpose personal computer, but rather to offer simple, well-focussed communications and Internet capabilities, which, in all truth, is all most people do with low-end personal computers.

However, Radio Shack sees a need for low-cost Internet appliances within the US; however, it’s not clear that the product’s $299 price point sufficiently differentiates it from low-end offerings from companies like Dell, Gateway, and even Apple to ensure success in the U.S. market.

The Personal Internet Communicator runs Windows CE using AMD’s (formerly Cyrix’s) low-power Geode GX processor at 366 MHz.