Short Take: Netpliance unveils Net terminal

Start-up Netpliance has announced its Ipad (Internet Personal Access Device), a single-purpose Internet terminal, priced at $399. The Ipad is sold with complementary Internet access and online service from Netpliance. The device and service will be sold directly to families through cable and television commercials, and it will come in different versions for each member of the family, the company said. The new offering is part of an overall industry trend of packaging simple devices and scaled-down PCs with low-cost Internet services for consumers.