Name: Navi

Quote (stolen from some page):

NAVI are the personal computers that people use in the world of serial experiments lain. They include both desktop and handheld models (HandyNAVI). NAVI computers are linked to the Wired.

Interpretation:
"NAVI" is most likely a contracted form of "Knowledge Navigator." John Sculley, the CEO of Apple from 1983 to 1993, described the Knowledge Navigator in his book titled Odyssey (1987). The Knowledge Navigator was his vision of Apple computers in the 21st Century. Accurately predicting many of the changes eventually brought about by the World Wide Web, the hypothetical Knowledge Navigator would allow people to communicate with each other from anywhere in the world, would be connected to a vast shared hypertextual (Sculley cites Ted Nelson in reference to hypertext) database of information (like the Web or the Wired), and would also utilize intelligent agents or artificial intelligences to actively search out information of interest.

The Knowledge Navigator Sculley envisioned in 1987 would be suited for multimedia applications, utilizing large, high-definition, flat-display screens to support text, full-color, graphics, and computer generated animations. It would also feature high-fidelity sound, speech synthesis, and speech recognition. Sculley emphasized that the Knowledge Navigator would not need to take any specific form; it could be a desktop computer, a handheld, or even built into one's clothing.

Eventually, Sculley would implement some of his Knowledge Navigator ideas into the Newton, Apple's more-or-less unsuccessful PDA (personal digital assistant). The Knowledge Navigator concept was promoted in a video called "The Knowledge Navigator: Technologies to Get Us There and Beyond" as well as a shorter commercial for general consumption.

John Sculley's vision of the Knowledge Navigator, even if not fully realized, was important for the technologies it inspired as well as predicting the change of the personal computer's role as a productivity tool to one which is used to mediate information exchange and transfer.