PenCell Spreadsheet to Ship Commercially, Under Windows for Pen Computing

November 16, 1992 — PenWare Monday announced commercial release of PenCell spreadsheet Version 1.0 at a list price of $295, under the Windows for Pen Computing operating system from Microsoft Corp.

PenCell can be ordered immediately, and will ship to distributors in December 1992. PenCell Lite, which is a restrict-ed version of the PenCell spreadsheet, is shipping today, bundled with the PenMate digitizing tablet from Mouse Systems. Distribution arrangements for PenCell Version 1.0 were separately announced.
PenCell was first introduced at Comdex in 1991 on a proprietary operating system, and was finalist for the prestigious “Best of Comdex” Shelley awards, in the entire category of applications software. This award recognized outstanding PenCell features, and PenCell’s potential to influence the emerging market for pen computing.

“Now that second generation pen machines are arriving and pen operating systems such as Windows for Pen Computing are shipping, we believe that the shipment of PenCell which is a significant business application for pen computers, will finally fuel the much awaited explosive growth in the professional mobile pen computing market,” said Nazim Kareemi, president of PenWare.

“Basic numeric analysis is the foundation of business interaction, and its uses are wide and varied. Whether a simple expense report, budget or forecast, or an insurance presentation, the ability to display, modify and manipulate data is a driving force behind much business activity,” said Faruq Ahmad, vice president of marketing at PenWare.

“PenCell is designed to make such analysis simple, and minimize the fear factor for the novice user. Pen computing will create new markets, and better serve existing users. As our first product, PenCell addresses both.”

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, back to the beginning of a session if desired. This permits quick correction of an entry error, or a change to an assumption made several steps earlier.

PenCell permits users to write directly into spreadsheet cells, and use pen gestures and pen strokes to build and manipulate their analysis. Each operation is described on the message line as it is completed, in the English-like “PenScript” language. PenScript also serves as the basis for PenCell’s macro capability.
Reliance on handwriting recognition is minimized through a “values only” mode. The spreadsheet may be annotated in electronic ink. PenCell is compatible with spreadsheets in standard Lotus 1-2-3 or Microsoft Excel file formats. Charts, formats, financial and statistical functions, and other spreadsheet functionality are provided.

PenCell is designed to be easy to internationalize, and a German language version first shipped on a proprietary system in December, 1991. PenCell is also designed to be compact and portable, and suitable for machines with limited stor-age space.
PenCell has garnered wide support from industry and users as an application that makes it easy to show and experience the productivity possible with the pen.

Companies that demonstrate PenCell on their pen system or desktop digitizer include NCR Corp., NEC Technologies, Samsung, GRiD Systems, Mouse Systems, Wacom Technology Corp., and others. User feedback has been uniformly favorable, and shows PenCell to be an application that delivers on the promise of pen computing.

“PenCell is the kind of necessary application that will help the industry take off, and make Windows for Pen Computing the clear standard,” said Richard Tong, director of Windows marketing at Microsoft. “It is designed from the start with the pen in mind, to deliver real value to mobile users.”

PenCell Version 1.0 carries a list price of $295 in the U.S., and may be ordered immediately. It will ship to distributors in December 1992. PenCell Lite, a restricted version of PenCell, ships bundled with the PenMate digitizer from Mouse Systems Corp., and is available at retail outlets.

PenWare is headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., and 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 com-pilers, 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.

Companies Demonstrating the PenCell Spreadsheet Under Windows for Pen Computing

• Acecad
• Calcomp
• Dauphin
• FTG Data
• GRiD Systems Corp.
• Mouse Systems
• NCR Corp.
• NEC Technologies
• Samsung
• Toshiba
• Wacom Technologies
•  … and others

User Feedback

CompuQuest: Aram Kovach, vice president, Pencentric Applications VAR:
“It would not surprise me if PenCell becomes the de facto standard for spreadsheets on pen computers. The learning curve is just about horizontal, it is so easy to use. If you know how to use a pen, you already know how to use Pen-Cell! It keeps simple analysis simple, and even makes more complex analysis simple.”

Chevron USA: David Platt, supervisor, Financial Applications Group for petroleum manufacturer:
“PenCell is immediately intuitive to navigate throughout, plus its pencentric features open up new types of potential uses with our internal customers. It combines a fully pencentric design with full integration into Windows for Pen Computing, to make users immediately productive.

PenCell will make it possible for our accountants to take selected information from their large complex spreadsheet at the desktop, out into the field where the business actually takes place. They can then do “what if” scenarios with engineers and operations personnel where the oil comes out of the ground. The unlimited undo capability makes it especially easy to correct mistakes.”

RKB International: Mark Puflea, data processing manager, Warehouse distribution
“We use PenCell for inventory management … in identifying patterns and potential back orders. PenCell has also helped in picking out sales patterns and improving projections. Ease of use is paramount to our staff, and there is al-most no training involved.

Ease of use for PenCell is A plus. The unlimited undo capability makes scenarios easy to perform. This is a feature which quickly becomes hard to do without.”

Editors note:
Telephone Numbers (for Press use only):
–Aram Kovach, 614/436-4777
–David Platt, 510/842-4624
–Mark Puflea 310/549-4900

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