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Microsoft unveiled Wednesday an upgrade for its WebTV Network including improved software and services along with next-generation WebTV boxes.
The move comes at a critical time for Microsoft as the battle heats up with companies such as America Online, which are scrambling to get the next generation of set-top boxes to customers.
Microsoft's new WebTV Classic and WebTV Plus set-top boxes are noticeably smaller than the earlier version, thanks to the removal of a mostly neglected 1GB hard drive in original systems. WebTV Classic and Plus are the size of small paperbacks and rely on flash-based local data storage provided by Israel-based M-Systems.
WebTV Gets Revved for Speed
WebTV Classic ($99) gets a new 56-kilobits-per-second V.90 modem-- replacing older 33-kbps ones--along with an added port for plugging in a printer. WebTV Classic service is $21.95 a month--up from $19.95. Existing customers will not be affected by the rate increase.
Microsoft says it...