NEWS RELEASE
 
Contact: Chandra Bodapati, ProdEx Technologies
chandra@prodexusa.com
(408) 872-3103, Fax : (408) 861-9601

Seiko Instruments Licenses ProdEx's Address Grabber Technology

Enables transfer of contact data from the smart business card reader to popular contact management platforms

LAS VEGAS, Nov. 17, 1997 (Booth L4416) -- Seiko Instruments USA Inc. (SIU) today announced it will license Address Grabber from ProdEx Technologies for use in the Smart Business Card Reader and the Smart Label Printer. This innovative technology will expand the two products' ability to transfer contact information to and from several additional software applications and Personal Data Assistants (PDAs).

During Comdex '97 this week, Seiko Instruments will display the enhanced addressbook connectivity from the Smart Business Card Reader to popular contact managers such as ACT! and GoldMine®, as well as connectivity to PDAs like the Palm® Pilot.

"Using Address Grabber, the Smart Business Card Reader can scan contact information from business cards and instantly send it to your favorite contact manager, Personal Information Manager (PIM), Palm® Pilot, or other PDA," said Ken Hoyle, product manager at Seiko Instruments.

"And, as new versions of contact managers are released, the Address Grabber technology enables Smart Business Card Reader users to have immediate data transfer support with the new version--no need to upgrade their Smart Business Card Reader software," Hoyle continued.

ProdEx Address Grabber provides unprecedented Address Book connectivity among Windows applications, and eliminates re-typing addresses that already exist in the computer. For example, this innovative technology allows the Seiko Instruments Smart Label Printer to capture an address from a document in a word processor, or from a contact manager or PDA, and print an address label instantly.

the ProdEx Address Grabber technology also offers connectivity to word processors, contact managers, PDAs, the Smart Label Printer line, The Smart Business Card Reader, E-mail applications, Windows clipboard, web browsers, and any additional applications which utilize adresses and contact information.

"Address Grabber provides an 'intelligent' cut and paste between addressbooks of different Windows applications. Intelligent because it performs a field-to-field transfer from one addressbook to another," said Chandra Bodapati, president of ProdEx Technologies in Saratoga, Calif.

"Most applications provide a multi-step export/import feature for moving several contacts from one application to another, yet none provide an instant one record transfer. Address Grabber provides instant, single-record addressbook transfer--universally to and from many popular programs," Bodapoti continued.

For example, this breakthrough technology also allows a user to retrieve contact information from an E-mail or web page, instantly save it to a contact database where they can simply print or store the contact information.

Similar to the process in which Windows printer drivers are used, ProdEx Address Grabber "clients" can be developed to support many of the diverse applications that utilize addresses. Adding other clients to existing Address Grabber software can be as easy as downloading new drivers.

Developers of software applications can easily add Address Grabber support, simply by including the ProdEx Address Grabber client files with their software release. To provide enhanced connectivity between their application and others, software developers can license and ship the ProdEx Address Grabber server.

The Seiko Instruments Smart Business Card Reader and the Smart Label Printer line with the added Address Grabber technology, will be available by the end of this year through Seiko Instruments' network of computer and office dealers, from leading mail order catalogs, or direct at (800) 688-0817.

The Compact Convenience Products Division of Seiko Instruments USA Inc., which markets PC accessories for home, office or travel, is headquartered at 1130 Ringwood Court, San Jose, Calif. 95131 (408) 922-5800 Fax (408) 433-3261. Website: www.seikosmart.com

ProdEx Technologies, a software and hardware developer, is located at 14471 Big Basin Way, Suite E, Saratoga, Calif. 95070. (408) 872-3103 Fax (408) 861-9601. Website: www.prodexusa.com