La-Z-Boy, Microsoft Unveil E-cliner

Recline while online in a new chair that merges a favorite
position
in contemporary TV watching with the Internet.

La-Z-Boy and Microsoft's WebTV Networks Inc. developed the Explorer,
a recliner providing a comfy way to check and send e-mail, surf the Web
and play
around with interactive TV.

Named "Explorer," the e-cliner comes with a Sony WebTV
receiver, a wireless keyboard and two free months
of WebTV Plus service. The fabric model carries a $1,049 price
tag and the leather/vinyl job costs $1,299.

A tray table folds out of the e-cliner's left arm and holds the
battery-operated keyboard, which interacts with the WebTV receiver
via an infrared beam. The keyboard tray unfolds across the lap, similar
to an airline snack tray. The tray can support a laptop computer.

Inside the left arm there's an electrical outlet with surge protection, a
DSL (digital subscriber line) port and regular analog line, and an
AC adapter for plugging in a laptop.

And what would a an e-cliner - the companies say it's the world's
first - be without a drink holder? It's there in the right arm,
adjacent to a place to keep the TV remote and other necessities.

"Together, we've developed the most technologically advanced recliner
to date and have created a way for every consumer to be comfortable
with interactive television, e-mail and the Internet," La - Z - Boy
marketing
director Kevin R. Wixted said in a news release.

La - Z - Boy is on the Web at http://www.lazboy.com

Web TV is at http://www.webtv.com.