TROY Group and Hewlett-Packard Company Team to Integrate the Bluetooth Wireless Standard Into the JetSend Communications Protocol
Companies seek to add Bluetooth functionality to millions of devices including printers, laptop PCs, PDAs and cellular phones
SANTA ANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 4, 2000-- TROY Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROY - news) today announced that its subsidiary, TROY XCD, will develop the technology to apply the Bluetooth wireless standard to JetSend, a device-to-device communication protocol developed by HP. The combination of JetSend and Bluetooth will allow a wide range of mobile electronic devices to communicate with each other without the need for cables or special device drivers.
Bluetooth (www.bluetooth.com) is a rapidly emerging new technology specification that provides low-cost, short-range radio links among mobile devices such as laptop PCs, PDAs and cellular phones, and stationary devices such as printers, fax machines and computer networks. The Bluetooth specification has been endorsed by many of the market leaders in the telecommunications and computing industries, including Nokia, Ericsson, Intel, Toshiba, IBM, Motorola, Lucent, 3Com and Microsoft. International Data Corporation forecasts that over 100 million devices in the US and approximately 450 million devices worldwide will be Bluetooth-enabled by 2004.
``The excitement surrounding the Bluetooth specification is unprecedented,' said Patrick J. Dirk, TROY Group's chairman and CEO. ``The ability to enable Bluetooth wireless communication utilizing JetSend and TROY technology is an enormous opportunity.'
JetSend is an open communication protocol that allows for ad-hoc exchange of meaningful information between devices without the need of a PC or specific device drivers. JetSend is well suited for Bluetooth applications because it intelligently negotiates the best possible communication between the devices without requiring any user intervention. For example, a Bluetooth laptop user could print a document on an HP LaserJet printer and later print that same document on an Epson inkjet printer without any need for PC printer drivers. In contrast, traditional printing methods typically require the user to install a new driver each time he wants to use a different printer.
In addition to printing over Bluetooth, JetSend is specifically designed to allow a wide range of devices to communicate with each other over a variety of data transport technologies, including infrared, radio frequency and TCP/IP. For example, the user of a JetSend-enabled digital camera could send photos to a range of devices via Bluetooth connections, regardless of the transport mechanism, without having to `translate' the communication based upon the characteristics of its destination devices.
HP and TROY will co-develop an integrated wireless communication solution featuring the JetSend communications protocol running over the Bluetooth transport. The first working prototypes are expected to be demonstrated at the Bluetooth Congress 2000 on June 14-16 at the Centre de Congres in Monte Carlo. TROY will be introducing Bluetooth-enabled devices beginning in Fall 2000.
About TROY Group
TROY Group (www.troygroup.com) is recognized as a worldwide leader in financial payment solutions. The U.S. Treasury has printed all its checks using TROY payment systems since 1984. The Company is also a leading supplier of network printing and Internet connectivity solutions. TROY (NASDAQ:TROY - news) has established a number of strategic relationships with companies such as Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HWP - news), IBM (NYSE:IBM - news), Standard Register (NYSE:SR - news) and Equifax (NYSE:EFX - news) and distributes its solutions in 55 countries. The Company is a Hewlett-Packard Company Extended Solutions Provider (ESP), and has been an HP development partner since 1992. TROY's current technologies enable the Company to remain on course to become a leading worldwide provider of e-commerce payment solutions and network and Internet connectivity solutions.
Forward-looking statements of TROY (statements that are not historical fact |
