Audrey is a new kind of Internet appliance designed to reside at the nerve center of the home, enabling intuitive communication, organization, and time-saving access to online content. This simple and elegant device gives consumers rapid, personalized access to weather, traffic, sports, stocks, a unified family calendar and organization—uniting the household. Audrey periodically updates its information in the background, and is available the moment you wake it up—no more waiting for the PC's long "boot-up-and-connect" process. Its intuitive messaging tools include regular e-mail, handwritten e-mail postcards, and voicemail over the Internet. Thanks to its small size, Audrey easily integrates in a variety of locations throughout the home.

IDEO's industrial designers drew inspiration from vases, kitchen appliances, home utensils and other facets of domestic life to create a device that is appropriate around the house, while being aesthetically different from personal computers. The form echoes its simple functionality, helping to create an inviting experience.

The prominent knob on the front bezel recalls a TV or radio station selector, and is similarly used to switch information areas within the user's personal domain. The "antenna" at the top rear is a touch-screen stylus that doubles as an information beacon when in its holder to let users know when new messages have arrived. The unit contains ample processing power with embedded peripheral support. Other features include a touch-screen color LCD, one serial and two USB ports, a wireless keyboard, and an integrated modem.The design effort focused on providing low unit cost and a compact size while keeping to an aggressive schedule.