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US Firm Announces First Handwriting Input Device For Palm-Based Systems

Shipments To Begin Summer 2000

Cupertino, California - November 30, 1999 — Claiming that today's information appliances -- PDAs, Smart Phones, Internet TVs, pagers, etc. -- are "input challenged", a new Silicon Valley firm has developed the first device to instantly capture in a Palm organizer anything the user writes or draws on paper.

The new Ecrio connected notepad from Ecrio Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. will be available to the US market in the summer 2000 through a network of key channel partners and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). It is expected to retail for $199.95.

The Ecrio is an "smart portfolio" that holds a handheld electronic device, such as Palm Computing's Palm Pilot, on the left side, and a standard 5 by 8-inch pad of paper on the right. Anything written on the paper pad is automatically captured via a wireless connection and attached to the application or record that is open in the handheld device.

For example, notes taken during a phone conversation are automatically attached to an open record in the address book. The handwritten information then can be e-mailed directly from the Palm Organizer or similar device using a modem, or from a PC using the HotSync feature.

"This is the easiest way for mobile users to transfer notes written on paper to a Palm OS-based handheld device for future retrieval or sharing via e-mail, fax or instant messaging," said Tim Bajarin, industry analyst and president of Creative Strategies in Campbell, Calif.

And, J. Gerry Purdy, Ph.D., president and CEO of Mobile Insights, Inc., a leading market research firm in Mountain View, Calif., added: "Ecrio is a great way for the business professional to easily capture notes from a meeting using a Palm. It also can be used in a variety of vertical markets, such as healthcare, real estate, insurance and more."

According to Nagesh Challa, President and CEO of Ecrio Inc., the new product also will soon be available in Japan through a partnership with Mutoh America Inc. and its parent company, Mutoh Industries of Japan, which will distribute the product in cooperation with IBM Japan.

Ecrio Inc. is in the business of developing technology and marketing products that enable freeform, natural input to a variety of personal computing and communications devices. For its first product, the company worked with Mutoh America by adding its connectivity technology and application software to Mutoh's digitizing technology. Ecrio Inc. also licenses and distributes its products via OEM and channel partners worldwide.

About Ecrio

Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Ecrio is the leading vendor of real time commerce and communications software for mobile phones. Ecrio provides interoperable and standard compliant software to mobile phone manufacturers and mobile operators. Solutions include mobile commerce applications, including NFC and MoBeam mobile barcode redemption, along with 3G communications applications such as Instant Messaging and Presence Services (IMPS), VideoShare, Voice over IP (VoIP), and Push to Talk over Cellular (PoC). Ecrio's customers include industry leaders such as ASUSTeK, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic and Visa. Visit www.ecrio.com

Ecrio and MoBeam are trademarks of Ecrio Inc. All other brands, products, and company names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective holders.

Press Contact:

Larry Loper,
Ecrio lloper@ecrio.com
+1 408 596 1500

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