MobileSoft Demonstrates MobileCalc, the Newton Spreadsheet, for Sharp’s Expert Pad
LAS VEGAS — November 15, 1993 — MobileSoft Corp. has successfully demonstrated MobileCalc, the world's first spreadsheet designed specifically for Newton Intelligence-based Personal Digital Assistants, on Sharp Corp.'s Expert Pad PDA.
MobileCalc, designed by MobileSoft for the Expert Pad's small screen and handwritten input capability, combines spreadsheet power with an innovative user interface. MobileCalc takes full advantage of the Expert Pad's advanced features and leverages the power of the Expert Pad's pen as a command and control device.
MobileCalc is a paper and pencil-like spreadsheet that lets users jot down numbers and carry out many functions that can be performed with a traditional spreadsheet — from data entries for inventory control to complex numerical analysis — with the ease of handwriting. With MobileCalc, mobile professionals can perform "what-if" analyses in any setting. By utilizing the Expert Pad's sophisticated communications functions, they can send and receive MobileCalc spreadsheets by fax, electronic mail or through infrared "beaming".
"Sharp's Expert Pad lets users take notes and get organized; MobileCalc lets them 'crunch' numbers. These two innovative products, used together, give users 'anytime, anywhere' access to an application that's traditionally been associated with the desktop," said Pete Snell, the founder of MobileSoft.
"The benefits of having access to a mobile spreadsheet are innumerable — users can do sales forecasts and give cost estimates on the fly, do portfolio or cash flow analysis, negotiate a business deal — the list goes on. And the beauty of using MobileCalc on the Expert Pad is that it gives users access to all this functionality in a format that's easy and familiar — essentially pencil, paper and eraser. MobileCalc is the world's most convenient spreadsheet."
Key MobileCalc features include:
— Smart Cell Input: Allows users to write freely beyond the cell's boundaries by automatically placing the number in the intended cell.
— Zoom and Navigate: Provides directional arrows which facilitate maneuvering through the spreadsheet and allow up to a 4x view of the spreadsheet.
— Label Palette and Equation Tapboard: Saves time by letting users drag-and-drop prewritten labels (for row and column headings) and common formulas from a pull-down list.
— Recognition Enhancer: Significantly improves handwriting recognition by enabling the user to activate numbers-only recognition. By deactivating letter recognition (which can very simply be reactivated at any time), an "I" cannot be mistaken for a "1" or an "S" a "5", so numeric recognition is extremely accurate.
"MobileCalc will be a tremendously helpful tool for Sharp Expert Pad users who need to tap the power of a spreadsheet wherever they are," said Gil DeLiso, director of Sharp's personal/home office electronics and Wizard Divisions. "MobileCalc helps to establish the Expert Pad as a very valuable tool for mobile professionals."
The diskette version of MobileCalc, scheduled to ship before the end of the year at an expected price of $99, requires the Newton Connection Kit and an additional PCMCIA memory card.
As a recognized leader in consumer, office and industrial electronics products, Sharp Electronics Corp., headquartered in Mahwah, has sales of over 52.4 billion, markets some 1,200 products in over 40 product categories and employs more than 2,200 people nationwide. Founded in 1962, Sharp Electronics is the U.S. sales and marketing subsidiary of Japan's Sharp Corp., and is a leading seller of many electronics product lines, including LCD products, camcorders, microwave ovens, electronic organizers, copiers, facsimile machines and calculators.
MobileSoft Corp., headquartered in Campbell, Calif., develops, publishes, markets and distributes useful add-in software products exclusively for Newton technology devices.
MobileSoft is financially backed by leading venture capital firms, including Merrill, Pickard, Anderson & Eyre; Draper Associates and InterWest Partners.
Note to Editors: MobileSoft, the MobileSoft logo, MobileCalc and The Newton Spreadsheet are trademarks of MobileSoft Corp. Expert Pad is a registered trademark of Sharp Corp. Netwon and the Newton Connection Kit are trademarks of Apple Computer Inc.
CONTACT:
Edelman Technology Communications
Lisa Croel or Shannon Auten, 415/968-4033