Zenith Electronics said today it is teaming up with Network Computer, a unit of Oracle, and with Navio Communications, the consumer affiliate of Netscape Communications, to launch new Internet television products.

Zenith, based in Glenview, Ill., said it plans to offer a family of Internet television products -- set-top boxes and integrated television sets -- with interactive capabilities based on Network Computer's System Software.

In a separate statement, released from Las Vegas where the Winter Consumer Electronics Show is being held, Zenith said it plans to collaborate on consumer-based Internet software and services with Navio.

Zenith said its "NetVision" Internet TV products are planned for introduction in 1997. The products will allow TV viewers to access the World Wide Web, send and receive multimedia e-mail, and participate in a variety of interactive and electronic commerce services. NetVision will use Zenith's "Z-Track" track-ball remote control, which operates like a computer mouse, it added.

Zenith said the set-top boxes and televisions will feature a printer port and smart card slot for home shopping, banking and other transactional services.

The product will also include a built-in 33.6 kilobit-per-second telephone modem and an Ethernet port for connection to high-speed cable modems.

Zenith said its agreement with Oracle's Network Computer unit marks a new direction for its Internet television product strategy and is another step toward establishing the software developed by Network Computer as the industry standard platform for Internet appliances.

"Working with Oracle, Zenith is redefining the experience of television and marrying channel surfing and net-surfing in a new exciting way," Peter Willmott, Zenith president, said in a statement.

Willmott added that Navio's Internet software -- based on the Netscape Navigator, but designed for consumer applications -- is "a terrific fit with our Internet TV strategy."

James Barksdale, president of Netscape and a director of privately held Navio, said the Zenith alliance brings Netscape's Internet browser technology into the television market for the first time.

Source: Zenith