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3COM LICENSES PHONE.COM'S UP.BROWSER FOR USE IN THE PALM COMPUTING PLATFORM
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (August 3, 1999) ¾
3Com Corporation (Nasdaq:COMS) and Phone.com (Nasdaq:PHCM) announced
today they have signed a licensing agreement that allows Palm to incorporate
Phone.com's Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)-compatible UP.Browser�
in the Palm Computing� platform. Leveraging its leadership in the handheld
organizer market, Palm will license the industry-leading Palm Computing
platform with integrated WAP capability to wireless handset manufacturers
to develop devices that deliver superior usability, connectivity, and
immediate, reliable access to information for business customers and
consumers.
"This agreement enables licensees
of the Palm Computing platform to develop outstanding wireless mobile
phones with the small screens and keypad input for which WAP is optimized.
WAP complements Palm Computing's web clippingSM technology, which we
are deploying in the Palm VII� connected organizer and which is optimized
for similar devices from our licensees with larger screens and pen input,"
said Rob Hayes, platform product manager for Palm Computing, Inc., a
3Com company. "We are pleased to team with Phone.Com to add their market-leading
WAP technology to the Palm Computing platform. WAP has wide support
as a standard to deliver Internet information to mobile phones and is
an important part of the Palm Computing platform's support for manufacturers
in that market."
The WAP Forum's global wireless
application protocol specification leverages existing Internet standards
such as XML and IP for all wireless networks. WAP Forum members include
terminal and infrastructure manufacturers; operators, carriers and service
providers; software houses; content providers; and companies developing
services and applications for mobile devices. Phone.com founded the
WAP Forum with Ericsson, Nokia, and Motorola and plays an active role
on the WAP board of directors and in leading the technical evolution
of the specification.
"The Palm Computing platform
is well positioned to partner with leading wireless handset manufacturers
and develop innovative wireless devices," said Jeff Damir, vice president
of business development for Phone.com. "We look forward to working with
Palm to enable a new breed of wireless handsets that combine WAP's powerful
Internet access capabilities with Palm's proven strengths in ease of
use and connectivity."
"3Com's broad licensing approach
for the Palm Computing platform will create a new generation of connected
devices, " said Bob Egan, research director - mobile and wireless for
the Gartner Group. "The mobile phone market will reach 1 billion users
by 2003. 3Com's collaboration with Phone.com will drive innovation in
the high-end smart phone segment."
About the Palm Computing
Platform
With an installed base exceeding four million customers, the Palm Computing
platform is the foundation for the world's leading family of handheld
computing products from 3Com including the Palm III�, Palm IIIx�, Palm
IIIe�, Palm V� and new wireless Palm VII� connected organizers, in addition
to a broad range of products from Palm Computing's strategic partners.
These products include the IBM WorkPad PC Companion, the Franklin-Covey
Electronic DayPlanner, the Symbol SPT 1500 with built-in bar code scanning
capabilities for vertical markets,and the pdQ from QUALCOMM. Palm Computing
platform products hold a 72 percent market share of the worldwide handheld
personal companion market (IDC, November 1998).
About 3Com Corporation
With approximately 300 million customers worldwide, 3Com Corporation
connects more people to information in more ways than any other
networking company. 3Com delivers innovative information access to products
and network system solutions to enterprise, small businesses, carriers,
and network service providers, PC OEMs and consumers. 3Com - More connected�.
For more information, visit 3Com's web-site at www.3com.com
or the Palm Computing web-site at www.palm.com.
About Phone.com
Phone.com, Inc. is a leading provider of software that enables the delivery
of Internet-based services to mass-market wireless telephones. Using
its software, wireless subscribers have access to Internet- and corporate
intranet-based services, including Email, news, stocks, weather, travel
and sports. In addition, subscribers have access via their wireless
telephones to network operators' intranet-based telephony services,
which may include over-the-air activation, call management, billing
history information, pricing plan subscription and voice message management.
Phone.com is headquartered in Silicon Valley, California and has regional
offices in London and Tokyo. Visit http://www.phone.com
for more information.
Except for the historical
information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release
are forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking
statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited
to, Phone.com's limited operating history, potential fluctuations in
Phone.com's operating results, uncertainties related to the Phone.com's
long sales cycle and reliance on a small number of customers, Phone.com's
dependence on the acceptance of its products by network operators and
wireless subscribers, Phone.com's ability to adequately address the
rapidly-evolving market for delivery of Internet-based services through
wireless telephones, the need to achieve widespread integration of Phone.com's
browser in wireless telephones, competition from companies with substantially
greater financial, technical, marketing and distribution resources and
the ability of Phone.com to manage a complex set of engineering, marketing
and distribution relationships. Further information regarding these
and other risks is included in Phone.com's prospectus dated June 10,
1999 and in its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
# # #
3Com and Palm Computing are registered
trademarks, and Palm, Palm III, Palm IIIx, Palm V, Palm VII and More
connected are trademarks of 3Com Corporation or its subsidiaries. The
Phone.com name and logo and the family of terms carrying the "UP." prefix
are trademarks of Phone.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All other brands
and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with
which they are associated.
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