But How Does It Toast?

With its one-touch Internet access and tight integration with Palm OS-based handheld devices, 3Com’s Audrey promises an eye-catching alternative to the desktop PC. It had better — Audrey is just the latest in the crowded Internet-appliance market. These stripped-down machines offer users a quick way onto the Internet at a low price.

But easy Internet access is also the raison d’être of Apple’s low-cost iMac. So how do Audrey and a handful of other leading Internet devices compare to the colorful computer? And how do they measure up to an appliance of a different sort — the Toastmaster Wide Slot from Salton?

Tale of the Tape