InfoGear

InfoGear Technology Corporation was an American information-technology company established in 1995 to commercialize an internet-appliance concept that originated inside National Semiconductor. Its best-known product was an internet screenphone marketed under the iPhone name, years before Apple later used the same name for its smartphone line. InfoGear’s products combined telephone functions with an integrated display and network access, reflecting the mid-1990s vision that households would use dedicated appliances to browse online information and access electronic services. The company emerged from Project Mercury, an internal innovation effort at National Semiconductor. Bob Ackerman, a strategy and technology consultant working with National Semiconductor executive Demetris Paraskevopoulos, identified the project and collaborated with Jeff Oscodar and the National team to establish a separate start-up in May 1995. The new company initially worked with CIDCO Systems, a telecommunications-equipment maker, to bring the first version of the product to market. During its early phase, Bob Marshall served as chief executive, and the company concentrated on turning the concept into a manufacturable consumer device. InfoGear’s development strategy changed during 1997, when Ed Cluss became chief executive. The company acquired the intellectual property associated with the second-generation product from CIDCO and pursued a broader consumer-market launch. The first-generation iPhone shipped in 1997, followed by a second generation in 1999. The devices were distributed in the United States, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand. InfoGear also operated an online service environment, the InfoGear Network, which supplied information and services through content, e-commerce, and service partners. The company explored additional formats beyond its principal screenphone. These included the J-Phone concept and an effort to adapt InfoGear Network services to GSM mobile phones under the Ducati code name. InfoGear maintained offices in California and a research-and-development center in Israel, indicating an operating structure that combined American commercialization with international engineering capabilities. Cisco Systems acquired InfoGear on March 16, 2000. After the acquisition, Cisco operated the InfoGear Network for a period before eventually shutting it down. The acquisition ended InfoGear as an independent company. Its historical significance lies in its early attempt to create a mass-market internet appliance and in its ownership and use of the iPhone trademark before the name became associated with Apple’s later smartphone product. The available reference material does not establish a continuing independent InfoGear brand, current products, or a surviving corporate website.

InfoGear’s origins lay in Project Mercury, an internal innovation project at National Semiconductor in the first half of the 1990s. The project explored a dedicated appliance that could combine telephone communication with access to internet information. Bob Ackerman, a strategy and technology consultant working with National Semiconductor’s Demetris Paraskevopoulos, encountered the project in National’s laboratories. Ackerman, Jeff Oscodar, and members of the National team subsequently worked to separate the concept from the parent environment and form a start-up around it. InfoGear was founded in May 1995. In its first operating phase, the company worked with CIDCO Systems to develop and commercialize the initial product. Bob Marshall led the company as chief executive from 1995 through 1996. This period focused on transforming the experimental concept into a consumer-oriented device and establishing a commercial relationship with a telecommunications-equipment partner. A second phase began in 1997 under chief executive Ed Cluss. InfoGear acquired the intellectual property for the iPhone II from CIDCO and broadened its ambitions from a development partnership toward direct participation in the consumer market. The first-generation iPhone shipped in 1997, while a second generation followed in 1999. These products were internet screenphones: appliances designed to give users telephone capability and a displayed interface for online services without requiring a conventional desktop computer. InfoGear supplemented its hardware with the InfoGear Network. The service connected users with relevant information and online functions through relationships with content providers, e-commerce companies, and other service partners. The company also considered adjacent product and service opportunities, including the J-Phone concept and a GSM-mobile adaptation of InfoGear Network services known internally as Ducati. Its physical footprint included offices in California and a research-and-development center in Israel. InfoGear’s products reached markets including the United States, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand. The company’s use of the iPhone name predates Apple’s later smartphone, and InfoGear developed and owned the trademark for its own internet-appliance products. The InfoGear iPhone was therefore part of an earlier generation of networked consumer electronics, built around the expectation that dedicated, simplified appliances could broaden internet adoption. Cisco Systems acquired InfoGear on March 16, 2000. Cisco continued operating the InfoGear Network temporarily, but later shut the service down. The acquisition concluded InfoGear’s life as an independent company. The available source material does not document a current successor brand, an active product portfolio, or an ongoing InfoGear corporate presence.

• 2000

  Cisco Systems acquisition

  [1]InfoGearen.wikipedia.org

  Cisco Systems acquires InfoGear on March 16, 2000.

• 1999

  Second-generation iPhone ships

  [1]InfoGearen.wikipedia.org

  The company releases the next generation of its internet-appliance phone.

• 1997

  First-generation iPhone ships

  [1]InfoGearen.wikipedia.org

  InfoGear begins shipping its first-generation internet screenphone.

• 1995

  InfoGear is founded

  [1]InfoGearen.wikipedia.org

  The Project Mercury concept from National Semiconductor is spun out into InfoGear Technology Corporation.

• 1995

  CIDCO development partnership begins

  [1]InfoGearen.wikipedia.org

  InfoGear works with CIDCO Systems on the first version of its internet telephone appliance.

InfoGear positioned itself around easy-to-use dedicated internet appliances that combined familiar telephone hardware with online information, communications, and services. Its approach targeted consumers who might want network access without using a conventional personal computer.

• Internet screenphone · 1995

  CIDCO iPhone

  The first InfoGear-associated iPhone was developed in partnership with CIDCO Systems. It represented the company’s initial attempt to package online access and telephone functions in a dedicated consumer appliance rather than a general-purpose computer.

• Internet screenphone · 1997

  InfoGear iPhone

  InfoGear’s principal product line was an internet screenphone with a telephone interface and display for online information and services. The first generation shipped in 1997 and a second generation followed in 1999. The product was distributed in several English-speaking international markets and used the iPhone trademark owned by InfoGear.

• Internet information and services network

  InfoGear Network

  The InfoGear Network was the service layer associated with the company’s appliances. It delivered user-oriented information and online services through relationships with content, e-commerce, and other service partners. Cisco operated the network after acquiring InfoGear before eventually shutting it down.

• 2000

  Cisco acquires InfoGearM&A

  Background

  InfoGear had developed internet appliances and an associated online service network but remained a relatively small independent technology company.

  Action taken

  Cisco Systems acquired InfoGear on March 16, 2000.

  Aftermath

  Cisco operated the InfoGear Network for a period and later shut it down; InfoGear no longer operated as an independent company.

  Source

• 1997

  Move toward the consumer marketStrategy

  Background

  After its initial work with CIDCO, InfoGear sought greater control over its product direction and consumer-market positioning.

  Action taken

  Under Ed Cluss, the company acquired the iPhone II intellectual property from CIDCO and introduced its own iPhone product line.

  Aftermath

  The first-generation product shipped in 1997 and a second generation followed in 1999.

  Source

1. 1InfoGearen.wikipedia.org