Uniden America Corp. said it will use Lexmark International's [NYSE:LXK] inkjet printers for its new line of Axis Internet appliances designed for the consumer market.

Axis, recently demonstrated at Comdex Fall '96, is Uniden America's first foray into the blooming consumer Internet access appliance market. Lexmark's low-cost inkjet printers make a very good compliment to Axis says, Greg Jones, Uniden America's Internet Products Division president and manager.

Jones said Uniden picked Lexmark because of its brand-name recognition, along with Lexmark's inkjet technologies.

Although Internet appliances provide access to the worldwide network of computers, they are not necessarily computers themselves in that not just any printer can be attached to Axis' parallel port, Jones said. Uniden's appliance is "an embedded unit, and needs special drivers to work with a printer," he said, and Lexmark's printers designed for Axis will have those drivers already in place off the shelf.

Jones said the Uniden-Lexmark agreement is non-exclusive, and other companies and printing technologies are being considered for future alliances.

The Axis appliance itself will enable users to have news service access, stock quote retrieval, Web browsing, and other Internet applications. While being preconfigured to access the Internet through Compuserve Network Services (CNS), Axis is compatible with all major Internet and online service providers, officials added. But if customers use CNS, they will have one-button access to send and receive e-mail. Axis can automatically retrieve e-mail at regular intervals.

The unit alerts users when new e-mail has arrived via a blinking indicator. It can also store two thousand e-mail messages, and includes a built-in modem and the automatic e-mail retrieval system. Other features, including Caller ID, an electronic address book, a notepad, and a calendar, are also included.

Axis is slated to run in the $299-$399 price range, and will be available later this month in both corded and 900 megahertz (MHz) cordless versions.

Axis is a part of Uniden America's strategy to build telephony appliances for use with the Internet, officials said last month. Devices for the mobile professional are also planned from Uniden's new Internet Products Division.

Source: Newsbytes