Diba is the first company to launch a platform optimized for single-purpose computing appliances. Unlike personal computers or recently announced 'network computers,' Diba appliances will perform a single function, enabling average consumers in homes, offices, and schools to set up and use Diba-based appliances right out of the box. For example, Diba Kitchen will give cooks easy access to a recipe and nutrition information, while Diba Internet will let consumers browse the World Wide Web. This single-function approach yields simple yet powerful appliances that are extremely inexpensive to manufacture.
"Today's personal computer is a specialized device that only the well-off can afford or the technically proficient can use" said Farzad Dibachi, president & co-founder of Diba. "The average consumer views the Information Superhighway as a distant mirage; creating a society of knowledge `haves' and `have-nots'. Building the infrastructure for electronic commerce without equipping consumers with easy-to-use information appliances is like building a shopping mall without an entrance."
Diba also today announced partnerships with a number of companies - including Cirrus Logic, Motorola, Rockwell and Quark - that have committed to working with Diba to deliver the new information appliances to market. These partnerships bring service, technology, distribution and consumer electronic expertise to ensure widespread proliferation of Diba base information appliances.
These devices will resemble in shape, size and durability many of today's common household appliances. Diba and its partners estimate these new devices will cost between $150 to $300 to manufacture, and will be available to consumers for a nominal price, or even for free when bundled with an information service fee. The first Diba appliances will be available to consumers from Diba partners by the end of 1996, with availability in retail outlets and mail order catalogs shortly thereafter.
Dozens of Diba IDEAs Under Development
Diba's new family of devices will include a range of appliances for homes, offices, and schools. Each consumer electronics provider will develop its own unique, branded hard plastic exteriors enclosing a microprocessor, memory, Diba Application Foundation software, and function-specific application software. The first three showcase appliances, announced today, will require only a 110v electric plug and and in some cases, a standard telephone line:
Diba Kitchen - a small, clock-radio-sized device with an LCD screen that lets amateur and professional chefs instantly search recipe information by type of cuisine and nutritional information
Diba Mail - an integrated email/telephone device with an LCD screen for sending and receiving electronic mail and FAX messages
Diba Internet - an Internet terminal that will enable people to access World Wide Web sites from their TVs using a remote control
Diba, which is working with partners to design market-ready versions of these three appliances based on the Diba Application Foundation, has commissioned award-winning designer Bob Brunner, formerly head of industrial design at Apple Computer, to create models for the kitchen, electronic mail, and Internet appliances. Additional devices under development include:
Diba School - for accessing course-specific educational information
Diba Shopper - for easy shopping by electronic catalog
Diba Office - for easy access to enterprise information
Diba News - for browsing news, weather and sports scores on-line
Diba Financial - for browsing financial news and performing transactions
"The Diba family of information appliances will bring a consumer electronics approach to electronic information access," said Farid Dibachi, chairman & co-founder of Diba. "As technologists, we tend to focus on 'faster' and 'more powerful'. Ease of use is the focus of the Diba family of appliances. There's no reason why digital information should be any more difficult to receive than today's radio or TV programming, or any more difficult to use than a kitchen blender."
Key Technology Partners on Board
Diba also announced today its first set of partners for delivering information appliances to the market. These partners include Best Internet, which will bundle the appliances with targeted information services for home and business markets; and Quark, Inc., which is porting its QuarkImmedia technology to the Diba platform, thereby making any QuarkXPress document immediately available on Diba appliances. Diba has also partnered with Motorola, ISI, Cirrus Logic, and Rockwell for its initial appliance designs. Broadvision and Mbed have also announced support for the Diba platform. Additional partners will be announced at the Orlando CES show in May.
Test Marketing Finds Enthusiastic Customer Base
Focus groups for the Diba appliances have found an enthusiastic customer base. Potential consumers from a range of vocations gave the Diba prototypes high marks for ergonomic design and simplicity of use.
"This is the George Jetson stuff I've been waiting for all my life." said Tim Gerwin, a property manager. "This truly integrates computers into every day life--like ATMs," said Melissa Ward, a university fund raiser.
About Diba
Located in Belmont, California, Diba, Inc., is a software company specializing in information appliances for homes, schools, and offices. The company was founded in 1995 by Farzad Dibachi, formerly senior vice president of Oracle Corporation's New Media Division, and Farid Dibachi, formerly CEO and founder of Wavetron Microsystems, Inc. Diba is privately owned and financed.