The Buzz

AOL plans Netscape discount dial-up service

Trying to fend off cut-rate competitors, America Online plans to introduce a discount version of its dial-up Internet access service next year that will carry the Netscape brand name, according to reports by the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press.

The new service is expected to cost $9.95 a month for unlimited access, a big break on the $23.90 monthly price that comes with AOL's current dial-up service, which has seen its subscriber numbers fall. The new plan would beat the $14.95-a-month package AOL is pushing to people who get their Internet access from a separate broadband provider.

However, executives at AOL, part of Time Warner Inc., don't think the new Netscape discount service will siphon away bigger-spending customers after it debuts nationwide in the first quarter of 2004.

The slimmed-down service will not offer the parental controls or exclusive content found on AOL's main service. And while AOL now lets subscribers have up to seven different e-mail accounts, the Netscape package will carry only one screen name and e-mail address.

Sharp introduces laptop with 3-D screen

Three-D movies aren't limited to movie theaters and amusement parks anymore.

Sharp Systems of America (www.sharpsystems.com/) unveiled a notebook computer that lets users see 3-D flicks, without wearing those dorky glasses with red and blue lenses.

The company is the first to sell 3-D computers to the public, not counting a few small businesses that make 3-D monitors, such as Dimension Technologies in New York.

Sharp has sold 1.5-million cell phones with 3-D displays in Japan since introducing them last November.

The intended market for the $3,299 Actius RD3D includes computer-aided designers, such as those at automobile companies; medical professionals, including brain researchers; and computer gamers who like to immerse themselves in their games. Each of those could benefit from a 3-D machine, Sharp says.

Online music competition heats up

Competition is expected to put pressure on the price of online music files just in time for the holidays.

With Roxio Inc. announcing plans for Napster 2.0, and Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store for Windows expected to be announced this week, the industry looks poised for a spate of price wars.

The going rate is 99 cents for a single track, set by iTunes this year. But Real Networks says a six-week promotion, selling tracks for 49 cents through its Rhapsody service, tripled business. "The problem is you can't prove to these guys (the music label executives) that the price does not cannibalize CD sales," Rob Glaser, Real's chief executive, told the New York Times. "The experiment was successful, but the patient was worried about the side effects." Rhapsody is now selling tracks to its subscribing members for 79 cents each.

Samsung music player links to Napster

Napster, the Internet service that made downloading songs addictive, has emerged from legal limbo, and this time it comes with authorized hardware, courtesy of Samsung Electronics. Just as the iTunes Music Store is intended to foster a relationship with the Apple iPod, the Samsung Napster YP-910GS, a digital jukebox with a 20-gigabyte hard drive, is meant to work closely with the reborn Napster 2.0 music service.

Napster 2.0 says it will have 500,000 songs available to buy on Oct. 29 for 99 cents each, and Samsung estimates that the YP-910GS can accommodate 5,000 of them at a time. The player comes with all the software needed to tap into the Napster 2.0 store and a USB 2.0 connection to transfer the tracks quickly from the PC. If no PC is available, the Samsung Napster player can connect to a CD player and encode its own MP3 files on the spot. The device also can record MP3 files directly from its built-in FM radio and transmit its own songs and playlists through a car radio or home stereo tuner with its integrated FM transmitter.

The Samsung Napster YP-910GS, which is to appear in Best Buy stores this month, has a suggested price of $399. The player works with MP3 and Windows Media Audio files and is compatible with Windows 2000 and later. More information is available under the TV, Video & Audio link at www.samsungusa.com

Dell deal too good to be true

Even coming from Dell Inc., this deal sounded too good to be true: a $799 PC marked down to $139 after rebates and discounts.

Scores of customers who tried to snap up the deal recently learned they won't be getting those PCs after all. Dell canceled the orders, citing a pricing error on its Web site.

"Mistakes do happen, and this is an example of a simple pricing error," Dell posted on its message board, after irate customers complained their orders had been canceled without notice.

A Dell spokesman would not disclose how many customers had placed orders for the mispriced Dimension 4600 PCs. But Dell sent e-mail to customers who ordered the super-cheap systems, informing them their orders had been canceled.

Dell makes heavy use of temporary discounts, free shipping, rebates and upgrades on its desktop and notebook computers to meet sales goals. The offers change regularly, making it possible for savvy consumers to save hundreds of dollars by scouring Dell's ads, which target specific audiences.

There are so many offers, however, that it can create confusion for consumers and, apparently, Dell itself.

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