The i-Opener was a low-cost internet appliance produced by Netpliance (now known as Tippingpoint).

The i-Opener is generally regarded as a business failure because of poor sales. The hardware, cheaply available, became popular among geeks who modified the appliance to run as a normal PC. This made the device capable of running typical PC operating systems, such as GNU Linux and Microsoft Windows.

The original retail price was $99. The actual cost of the device was roughly estimated between $300 and $400. The devices were sold as a loss-leader (Razor-Razorblade Model) for monthly Internet service. However, as soon as a hacking method became available on Internet, many customers canceled the monthly service, which eventually made the business model unsustainable. Similar business model and failure is also found in the 3Com Audrey and Virgin Webplayer.

External links

• Modding information from Evernex.com
• Modding information from Fastolfe.net
• Modding information from Linux-hacker.net

Information appliances