On the x86-compatible front, for instance, Advanced Micro Devices, National Semiconductor, and Rise Technology rolled out their new IA products or strategies. And not to be outdone, vendors of RISC-based processors also invaded the IA chip market. RISC-processor offerings came from LinkUp Systems (using a MPU core from Arm Ltd.), IBM, Mips Technologies, Sun Microsystems, and others.

The IA market could explode in the future. According to Framingham, Mass.-based International Data Corp., the IA-based systems market is projected to hit 55.7 million in terms of unit shipments by 2002.

But still, after months of hype about IA-enabled devices--and their cost advantages over PCs in terms of Internet-access capabilities--the market for these low-end products remains a disappointment in the early stages, said analyst Max Baron for Cahners In-Stat Group in Scottsdale, Ariz.

"The IA market has not taken off," Baron said. "Products like Microsoft Corp.'s WebTV have not been very successful thus far."

One of the major problems is that the IA market is still cloudy in terms of standards, specifications, and product definition. In fact, according to chip makers at the Embedded Systems Conference, an IA system product could include anything that can access the Internet, such as a PDA, set-top box, smart phone, WebPad, or even a low-end PC.

Because the IA market is so fragmented right now, the business is still up for grabs among OEMs and chip makers alike, said David Lin, chief executive of Rise Technology Co. The San Jose-based supplier of x86-based processors is aiming at set-top boxes, IA products, and other information devices.

"The IA market is much different than the PC market," Lin said. "It's going to be impossible for larger companies like Intel to dominate the IA market."

Still, Intel Corp. is moving full-speed ahead in the IA market, although it is taking more of a systems-level approach to the market. Last June, the company rolled out the DotStation, an Intel-branded, systems-level IA product designed for the end-user markets.

"We use a Celeron chip in the DotStation," said a spokeswoman for Intel in Santa Clara, Calif. "The DotStation is not a chip product. It's a systems-level product that is sold under the Intel brand."

It's unclear if Intel will pursue the IA-based chip market in the future, especially after announcing last week that it would drop its low-end, integrated processor project, code-named Timna (see Sept. 23 story).

Despite Intel's move to scrap the Timna project, other processor suppliers are pressing ahead by developing lower-end chips for the IA and related markets.

For example, Intel's processor rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., last week announced a new low-end, x86-based chip line for these markets (see Sept. 25 story). At the Embedded Systems Conference, AMD said that its new chip was being used in a new IA-based system from Compaq Computer Corp. Dubbed the IPAQ family of IA products, Compaq's system is an Internet-access device that includes an MPU from AMD, 32-Mbytes of SDRAM, a 56-Kbit/s modem, a 10.1-inch screen, and a wireless keyboard.

But despite the reported design win with Compaq, AMD acknowledged that the IA market still has a long ways to go. "The IA market is taking off slower than most people had expected," said Paul Smith, division marketing manager for the Embedded Processor Division at AMD, based in Sunnyvale, Calif. "Part of the problem is cost," Smith said.

To drive down the systems costs, some x86-based chip makers are forming partnerships with low-cost contract manufacturers and OEMs in Asia.

Last week, for example, National Semiconductor Corp. announced a deal to co-develop a line of low-cost set-top boxes with Legend Holdings Ltd., China's largest PC maker.

Based in National's Geode line of x86-based chips, the proposed set-top box enables users to browse the Web on their TV sets at home. Prices or shipment dates of this set-top box were not disclosed, however.

"The development of Internet access devices is a major focus of Legend," said Yang Yuanqing, executive director of Legend. "In addition to PCs, Legend is developing more Internet access devices, including set-top boxes, palm-sized PCs, and broadband and wireless Internet access devices."

Other chip makers are also forging alliances as well. Recently, for example, Microsoft and Rise Technology announced a partnership under which the companies would develop a low-end set-top box for the China market.

The so-called Venus set-top box, to be sold under the Microsoft logo in China, is based on Rise's MP6 chip, a 200/250-MHz, x86-based MPU. By year's end, the Venus product will be available in China for about $300.

Future set-top boxes from Microsoft will use Rise's newly-introduced,x86-based system-on-a-chip products, which were rolled out last week, (see Sept. 28 story).

"Eventually, in their set-top box products, Microsoft will move to our system-on-a-chip devices," Rise's Lin said. "Microsoft is even considering a move to change their WebTV from Mips RISC to an x86-based chip." Lin was referring to Microsoft's WebTV line of set-top boxes, which are currently based on a RISC-based processors from Mips Technologies Inc.

"Traditionally, the set-top box market has been dominated by RISC-based chip solutions," Lin said. "But OEMs are finding it difficult to port the latest software to these devices."

Still, the RISC chip camp is not sitting still. And some new vendors are entering the fray.

For example, LinkUp Systems Corp. is lining up some key OEM partners in Asia to develop a set-top box for the China and India markets that would sell for less than $200, according to Ravi Bhatnagar, president and chief executive of LinkUp, based in Santa Clara, Calif.

The proposed products would be based on LinkUp recently-introduced L7205, a system-on-a-chip based on Arm Ltd.'s ARM720T processor technology.