U.S. Robotics Ships Award-Winning Pilot Connected Organizer
LOS ALTOS, Calif. — April 29, 1996 — The Palm Computing Division of U.S. Robotics (NASDAQ:USRX) today began shipping the Windows version of Pilot, a line of handheld electronic connected organizers designed to work as companion products to a desktop or laptop computer.
Created by U.S. Robotics to be the first connected organizer, the Pilot family of products is designed to meet the needs of PC users who want to manage their activities both remotely and on their desktops.
Since its debut, Pilot has already won the Stellar award from Windows Sources Magazine, a "Five Stars" evaluation from PC/Computing Magazine, and BYTE Magazine's Best of CeBit award for the Portable Computing category.
"The introduction of Pilot has generated a lot of excitement in the market. The outstanding initial response from the press and early users has confirmed our belief that it is a groundbreaking handheld product," stated Ed Colligan, vice president of marketing of the Palm Computing Division of U.S. Robotics.
"We believe that the combination of Pilot's pocket size, seamless desktop connectivity, third-party application support and price point finally addresses the needs of mainstream professionals."
Pilot will be distributed through leading consumer electronics and computer stores nationwide, including Circuit City, CompUSA, Computer City, Egghead, J&R Computer World and Elek-Tek.
Unlike other handhelds, PDAs and organizers available today, Pilot automatically synchronizes its information with a personal computer or PC LAN at the touch of a button. Pilot also features shirt-pocket size, instant response, and an elegant graphical user interface.
A comprehensive suite of personal information management (PIM) software — including date book, address book, to-do list, calculator, and note-taking applications — along with a companion desktop PIM, connectivity software and an innovative desktop cradle, are all included with Pilot for a breakthrough price of $ 299.
Pilot includes a complete suite of PIM applications, in addition to broad compatibility with existing PIM software, to accommodate users' existing PIM applications and data.
Many popular applications will be supported, including Ascend, from Franklin Quest Co.; DataSync, from IntelliLink Corp.; Lotus Organizer; Managing Your Money, from Meca Software; Microsoft Schedule+; Now Up-to-Date, from Now Software Inc.; Day-Timer Organizer 2.0 PIM, from Day-Timer Technologies; OnTime, from Campbell Services Inc.; SideKick, from Starfish Software; and others.
Pilot is based on the Palm Operating System (Palm OS), a handheld computer operating system platform that enables low-cost, low power, small form-factor devices to integrate seamlessly with desktop personal computers.
It is partitioned into two parts: highly efficient operating system software for the handheld; and Windows- or Macintosh-based software that manages synchronization of the handheld and the PC.
The Pilot 1000 unit carries an average street price of $ 299 and supports 500 addresses, one year of appointments, 100 to-do items and 50 memos, or any combination thereof. The Pilot 5000 supports five times as much data for an average street price of $ 369. A memory upgrade option that supports up to 10,000 records will also be available for $ 149.
The Pilot 1000 and Pilot 5000 models for PCs running Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 are available immediately. Palm expects that both models will be available this summer for Macintosh computers running System 7.0 and above.
Palm also expects that the French and German versions of both the Pilot 1000 and Pilot 5000 for Windows and Macintosh will be available this summer.
For further product information, customers can contact the Palm Computing Division of U.S. Robotics at 800/881-7256 or visit the Palm web site at http://www.usr.com/palm.
The Palm Computing Division of U.S. Robotics is a leading developer of handheld computing systems. Headquartered in Los Altos, Calif., it designs, develops and markets handheld computing products that include the Palm OS, the Pilot family of connected organizers, personal information management applications, desktop to handheld computer connectivity software and Graffiti power writing technology.
U.S. Robotics is one of the world's leading suppliers of products and systems that provide access to information. The company designs, manufactures, markets and supports remote access servers, enterprise communications systems, desktop/mobile client products, modems and telephony products that connect computers and other equipment over analog, digital and switched cellular networks, enabling users to gain access to, manage and share data, fax and voice information.
Its customers include Internet service providers, regional Bell operating companies and a wide range of other large corporations, businesses, institutions and individuals.
The company's 1995 sales were $ 889.3 million; sales for the first quarter of fiscal 1996 were $ 364.8 million.
Note to Editors: The following are trademarks of U.S. Robotics and its subsidiaries: U.S. Robotics, Graffiti, Palm Computing and Pilot. All other brands and product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders.
CONTACT:
Palm Computing Division
Ed Colligan, 415/917-3330
[email protected]
or
A&R Partners
Robson Grieve, 415/363-0982 ext. 21
[email protected]
or
U.S. Robotics
C. David Hall, 847/982-5162