PenCell Spreadsheet to be Bundled with GRiD Convertible

November 16, 1992 — Grid Systems Inc. and Penware Inc. announced Monday that a version of the PenCell spreadsheet under Windows for Pen Computing will be bundled with each Grid Convertible shipped.

Users will be able to upgrade to the full version of PenCell at a special reduced rate, using a coupon packaged with the box.

“‘The Grid Convertible’ promises to fuel demand for pen computers,” said Faruq Ahmad, vice president at Pen Ware. “Its design sets a standard per enabled mobile notebooks. Users now have every reason to make their next notebook computer purchase a pen computer. We believe that the Grid Convertible meets the needs of mobile professionals, and delivers on the promise of pen computing.”

“Users can now directly experience the improvement in productivity possible with the pen,” said Betsy Regan, vice president of marketing at Grid. “PenCell has been designed to take full advantage of the capability and flexibility of the pen interface. As a versatile and universally familiar application, a spreadsheet adds tangible value, and demonstrates clearly the benefits of the pen.”

The Grid Convertible is a 25 Mhz, Intel 386-based combination notebook and pen computer that quickly converts into a state-of-the-art notebook computer from a tablet computer.

PenCell is designed especially for use with pen computers, and simplifies data-manipulation, analysis, and presentation in a familiar spreadsheet layout. PenCell introduces the first unlimited undo capability in a spreadsheet. Operations may be reversed, one by one with each tap on the Undo icon, indefinitely to the beginning of a session. This permits quick correction of an entry error, or a change to an assumption made several steps earlier in a session.

Grid designs, manufactures, markets and services laptop, notebook, pen and multimedia computers, and pen-based software development tools. Grid is located at 7 Village Circle, Westlake, Texas. Grid’s products are marketed world-wide by Grid, Tandy Grid Europe and by authorized Grid distributors and resellers. Grid Systems Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tandy Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, a leading manufacturer of and distributor of consumer electronics and computers.

PenWare, headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., is a leading applications developer in the emerging mobile pen computing industry. The company was first incorporated in 1983 as a developer of state-of-the-art computer language compilers, and refocused in 1990 to pen computing under the PenWare name.

PenWare shipped the PenCell spreadsheet as its first pen application in 1991 on a proprietary operating system, in the English and German languages.

PenCell was first demonstrated under Windows for Pen Computing at Comdex/Spring 1992, and PenCell Lite was shipped in October 1992.

Grid is a registered trademark of Grid Systems Corp. Grid Convertible, GRiDPAD, and PenRight! are trademarks of Grid Systems Corp. MS-DOS and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corp. PenCell is a registered trademark of PenWare Inc., PenWare a trademark of PenWare Inc.

CONTACT:
PenWare Inc.
Tom Nunan, 415/858-4920
or
Lindsay Public Relations
Mary Lindsay, 408/984-7242