The Sega Dreamcast (US$200 street) is a marvelous 32-bit game console with unsurpassed graphics and great stereo sound. But it's a barely capable Internet access device, hampered by awkward input even when you use the optional keyboard (US$20 street).
Setup is easy. Plug in the well-marked cables, insert the included Sega Dreamcast browser CD, and push the player's start button. You can enter ISP information by selecting the setup screen and entering your dial-up user name and password. The Dreamcast has a standard 56K modem jack. If you use your own ISP there are no additional charges, which gives it an edge over WebTV for those who want to access the Internet with a conventional TV. Drawbacks include the absence of local storage and no printer support.
In testing, Web content looked even worse when displayed on our television set from the Dreamcast than it did on a WebTV. Entering URLs and navigating screens is crude, laborious, and slow. Worse, we often were caught in inescapable loops, hit dead ends, or received error messages after common Web commands. MP3, RealPlayer, and Windows Media Player formats were all unsupported.
Sega has promised that gamers will be able to play over the Internet with the Dreamcast, but no Internet games were available at the time of testing (the first, ChuChu Rocket, should be available by the time you read this). So its best Internet use is to research the latest games and meet other gamers. The Dreamcast is a terrific Internet-augmented game console, but it makes a poor choice as an Internet access device.
US$200 street. www.sega.com.
PC Magazine Rating: Fair
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