3Com Announces New Macintosh Offerings for the Industry-Leading Palm Computing Platform
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — May 11, 1998 — Palm Computing, Inc., a 3Com company (NASDAQ:COMS), today announced robust new offerings for Macintosh users and developers of the popular Palm Computing(R) platform. New desktop software for Mac OS will include an award-winning Personal Information Management (PIM) package, plus a new extensible HotSync(R) architecture for ultra-fast data synchronization between Palm Computing platform devices and Macintosh-based products.
The company also announced a set of native Macintosh tools for creating conduits to the Palm Computing platform from Macintosh-based applications. The Palm Computing platform is the basis for the new Palm III(TM) connected organizer and the industry-leading PalmPilot(TM) Personal and Professional Edition organizers.
The all-new Palm(TM) MacPac features Palm(TM) Organizer software for Macintosh, a new PIM based on the award-winning Claris Organizer software. 3Com purchased Claris Organizer from Apple Computer, Inc. last month. Palm Organizer seamlessly integrates calendar, contacts, tasks, notes and intelligent features such as drag-and-drop scheduling, user-defined custom views and powerful printing options in one easy-to-use, compact application. The Palm MacPac also features a native, extensible HotSync architecture for one-step desktop synchronization as well as the fast data access and the ease of use that made the Palm Computing platform the de facto open standard in the handheld market.
The new Macintosh-based Conduit Development Kit (CDK) provides developers an extensible, open architecture and a robust set of authoring tools for quick and easy development of Palm Computing platform conduits to native Macintosh applications. Conduits are links that provide seamless data synchronization between Palm Computing devices and an application, computer, network or the Internet. Already, third party Macintosh developers are creating Palm Computing platform solutions that will allow users to connect with corporate networks and the Internet as well as perform activities like fax, email and expense reporting in the Macintosh environment.
"These new products give Mac users a world-class native solution for the fastest adopted handheld computing platform in history," said Ed Colligan, vice president of marketing for Palm Computing. "We've created a new user experience that we believe will delight Macintosh users everywhere. We're also providing developers convenient tools to expand the platform within the Mac environment by linking core Macintosh applications into the Palm Computing platform."
"3Com bringing its world-class Palm Computing platform to the Mac — and delivering new levels of Macintosh integration to its connected organizers is great news for our mutual customers," said Phil Schiller, vice president of worldwide product marketing at Apple. "3Com's Palm Computing connected organizers make outstanding companions for the Macintosh. 3Com's commitment to the Mac comes at an exciting time — as Apple unveils the iMac consumer Macintosh and ultra-fast PowerPC G3 systems."
Upgrade
All current Macintosh users of the Palm III or any PalmPilot device who have already purchased the original MacPac version 1.0 will qualify for a free upgrade to the new Palm MacPac software. The free upgrade will be downloadable from the company's website for 60 days after the product is released, at http://www.palm.com. The MacPac, version 1.0 connection kit for Macintosh is currently available.
Availability and Pricing
The new Palm MacPac kit is expected to be available in late summer, 1998, for a suggested retail price of $ 14.95 at leading computer, consumer electronics and office supply stores nationwide including Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, Computer City, Computer Town, ComputerWare, Egghead, Fry's, The good guys, J&R Computer World, MicroCenter, Office Depot, OfficeMax, RCS, Service Merchandise, Staples, The Sharper Image, selected campus computing stores, and other fine regional retailers and computer catalogs. A pre-release version of the CDK is now available for qualified developers from Palm Computing's website.
A production version is expected to be available later this year.
About the Palm Computing platform
Built on the Palm Computing platform, which holds a 66 percent share of the standard handheld computing market worldwide (Dataquest), the Palm III and PalmPilot connected organizers are compatible with hundreds of software applications and hardware add-ons that are available from third-party vendors. With more than 7,000 developers working on Palm Computing platform solutions and more than 150 developers producing hardware add-ons, the Palm Computing platform offers the greatest number of handheld solutions available for both consumers and corporate customers. More than one million handheld devices based on the Palm Computing platform have sold.
About 3Com
3Com Corporation enables individuals and organizations worldwide to communicate and share information and resources at anytime from anywhere. As one of the world's preeminent suppliers of data, voice and video communications technology, 3Com has delivered networking solutions to more than 100 million customers worldwide. The company provides enterprises, network service providers and carriers, small businesses and consumers with comprehensive, innovative information access products and system solutions for building intelligent, reliable and high performance local and wide area networks. For further information, visit 3Com's World Wide Web site at http://www.3com.com, or the press site at http://www.3com.com/pressbox.
Note to Editors: 3Com, the 3Com logo, Palm Computing and HotSync are registered trademarks, and Palm, PalmPilot, Palm III, the Palm Computing Platform logo, the PalmPilot logo, the Palm III logo and Palm OS are trademarks of Palm Computing, Inc., 3Com Corporation or its subsidiaries. This product is not manufactured by Pilot Corporation or Pilot Corporation of America, manufacturers and distributors of writing instruments. All other brands and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.
CONTACT:
Palm Computing, Inc., a 3Com company
Elizabeth Cardinale, 650/237-6390
[email protected]
or
A&R Partners for Palm Computing
Amy Nemechek, 650/363-0982, ext. 252
[email protected]