NEWS RELEASE
 

Seiko Instruments USA Adds Palm®Pilot Link To Smart Business Card Reader

Contact information now can be transferred from business card scanner to popular PDA

LAS VEGAS, Nev., Nov. 17, 1997 -- Owners of Seiko Instruments USA's Smart Business Card Reader (SBCR) soon will be able to transfer the contact information effortlessly to their Palm®Pilot personal data assistants (PDAs).

Using ProdEx AddressGrabber technology, the SBCR scans business cards and transfers the contact information to the desktop software built into the Palm®Pilot from U.S. Robotics. The new contacts are transferred to the PDA during a routine "sync" (synchronization) process.

"The Smart Business Card Reader is a must for any Palm®Pilot user," said Ken Hoyle, SIU product manager. "There has never been an easier way to get business card-based contacts into the best-selling PDA on the market."

The Palm®Pilot currently is the market leader for PDAs, hand-held personal computers. Its popularity lies in the small size and weight, low price and enough functionality to perform many computing tasks, including storage of up to 4000 addresses, 2400 appointments and 500 memos. The Palm® Pilot has eight-to-12-week battery life, E-mail and Internet connectivity, data synchronization and other features.

The SBCR also has become a market leader in the PC accessory category with its ability to capture data from business cards and transfer it quickly and accurately into its own database manager, or into the most popular PIMs on the market, including ACT!, Maximizer and GoldMine®.

The announcement on the Palm®Pilot connectivity comes on the heels of news that SIU had licensed "Address Grabber" technology from ProdEx Technologies of Saratoga, Calif., enabling both the SBCR and SIU's line of Smart Label Printers to transfer contact information to and from additional software applications and PDAs, Hoyle said.

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