Sony Cans BeIA-Based eVilla

Putting to rest the final effort from Be, Inc. to establish its BeIA embedded platform, Sony announced yesterday that it will cease offering the eVilla Web appliance. The news comes less than two months after the $499 BeIA-based machine made its first appearance. A full refund will be offered to eVilla users, including all Internet service fees.

Although Sony claims the decision has nothing to do with the purchase of Be's assets by Palm earlier this month, executives blame "stability and usability" problems -- both of which revolve around the BeIA operating system that powers the device. Palm made clear at the time that it had no plans to further develop or support BeIA, placing Sony in a tough position with customers.

Initially set to ship last April, eVilla has been fraught with delays since day one. A sign of drastically changing times, Sony remained optimistic in May about the appliance coming to market. "We're still excited and ready to go," boasted eVilla General Manager Rob Bartels.

Another notch on the Internet appliance tombstone, the hasty demise of eVilla was not altogether unexpected. 3Com ceased production and development of its Audrey shortly after it began filling orders. Gateway and Emachines both shelved their devices due to dismal sales. Once thought to be next hot fad, Web appliances have quickly become useless as computer prices reach an all-time low.