Symbol Renews Palm OS License
Monday May 7, 9:02 am Eastern Time (2001)
Press Release
SOURCE: Palm, Inc.
Handheld Leaders Extend Strategic Relationship for Specialized Devices In Enterprises
SANTA CLARA, Calif. and HOLTSVILLE, N.Y., May 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM - news) and Symbol Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: SBL - news), two world leaders in handheld computing for the enterprise, today announced Symbol has extended its license of the Palm OS® operating system through April 2005. This announcement marks the second Palm OS license renewal within a month from a significant licensee, following the April 11 announcement that Handspring also is extending its license.
Symbol, which first licensed the Palm OS in December 1997, is a world leader in mobile data management systems and services. Its mobility solutions integrate handheld computers, wireless LAN and WAN communications and bar code scanning for mass enterprise deployment. Palm's licensing strategy has helped Symbol and other licensees innovate, which expands the market for developers and brings new devices to customers.
Symbol is an important strategic Palm OS partner, innovating with the Palm platform and taking handhelds into vertical industries, such as retail, transportation, distribution, logistics, parcel and postal delivery, manufacturing, healthcare and other industries that require portable and flexible devices. Mission-critical Palm OS based solutions from Symbol have been implemented globally by diverse customers such as Sears, the U.S. Postal Service, Office Depot, the Korean Postal Service and the Duke University Medical Center. For example, Sears has implemented Symbol's next-generation, in-store wireless mobile computing solutions for its 860 U.S. full-line department stores. Sears is putting in place nearly 15,000 Symbol handheld computers, which are based on the Palm OS and incorporate Symbol's browser.
``As the leader in mission-critical enterprise vertical markets, Symbol is a strategic partner for us in the fast-growing enterprise space,'' said Alan Kessler, general manager of Palm's Platform Solutions Group. ``Symbol has deployed the Palm OS to address mobile and remote workers in several key enterprise vertical markets, such as retail and transportation. Palm's association with Symbol has created a powerful solution set in the marketplace that is creating strong competitive advantages for many enterprise businesses.''
``The Palm-Symbol relationship has helped create a mobile computing revolution within the enterprise vertical markets,'' said Ron Goldman, senior vice president, Symbol Technologies. ``Symbol's family of Palm OS devices, deployed to hundreds of thousands of mobile workers, extend an enterprise's I.T. architecture to the point of activity. Mobile workers armed with these devices have the information to make decisions anywhere-anytime.''
About the Palm OS Platform
The value of the Palm OS is derived from the more than 150,000 registered developers who have created more than 9,000 software programs and hundreds of hardware options, including wireless modems, GPS receivers, MP3 players, digital cameras, voice recorders and data-capture devices.
Palm and its licensees are working aggressively to enhance the Palm OS in 2001 with new capabilities, including support for most wireless standards, support for the Bluetooth local radio standard, secure transaction services, and enhanced multimedia and graphics support.
Approximately 400 to 500 new Palm OS software applications become available every month, ranging from spreadsheets that can read and write Microsoft Excel files, and document processors that can handle Microsoft Word files, to databases, enterprise applications, eBook readers, mapping programs, email programs, web and WAP browsers, dictionaries, financial management programs, health and fitness programs, and games. |
