Sub £200 Internet TV hits the streets

Fiddle with your knob while playing with your Bush

By Linda Harrison • Get more from this author

Posted in Music and Media, 25th June 2000 12:00 GMT

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Computer-shy Brits can now get their own portable TV with built in Web access for under £200.

Television manufacturer Alba started shipping the Bush Internet TV to retailers this week. The product is available in with 14-inch screen and costs £199, while a 21-inch model is expected to retail at around £300.

Alba, a company so clued up about the Internet that it has yet to get its own company Web site, hopes to sell more than half a million of the online TVs before the end of the year.

It has ploughed £3.5 million into developing the product with set-top box maker Pace Micro Technology. The ISP service is provided via a joint venture between World Online's Telenco and Alba's Bush Internet ISP, while Virgin Net is the content provider.

Revenue from the subsidised TV set will come from advertising, e-commerce and phone charges. According to today's FT, Alba CEO David Harris reckons the operation will break even in two years.

The TVs are aimed at punters unaccustomed to the Net viewers can plug the set straight into a phone line and use a remote control that folds out into a small keyboard with integrated mouse.

The boxes are already in Argos and will be in most electrical goods sheds by July.®

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