----News-----
SUNNYVALE, CALIF. (July 8) BUSINESS WIRE -July 8, 1998--General Magic,
Inc., a leading developer of integrated voice and data applications,
has begun beta tests of its forthcoming Portico(TM) service.
Initial beta testing commenced in June with two important target
groups: telecommunications carriers and mobile business professionals.
These groups will provide over 1,000 users for the beta program. The
carriers are comprised of eight of the top telecommunications companies
in the United States, including cellular, PCS and land-line providers.
General Magic is on schedule to deliver Portico commercially on July 30
in a progressive rollout of the service.
The only second generation virtual assistant, Portico service
integrates a subscriber's voice mail, email, address book and calendar,
as well as company news and stock quotes. Information can be accessed
via any telephone or by using a popular Web browser.
The telecommunications carriers are acting as beta users for General
Magic and will offer system feedback from the carrier perspective.
External trials with selected customers in target markets are expected
to follow. Completion of carrier trials will help achieve General
Magic's distribution strategy of making the Portico service available
through carriers in the months ahead.
"We are putting Portico through its paces, rigorously testing every
aspect of the service, from the customer sign-up experience to our
magicTalk(TM) voice user interface to our subscriber support and
service," said Steve Markman, chairman, president and CEO at General
Magic.
"The input from the 'road warriors' and carriers will help us fine-tune
the service to ensure that it meets the essential needs of our target
customers."
While beta feedback from mobile professionals is expected to continue
over the next couple of months, the Company plans to make Portico
commercially available on July 30 through a nationwide network of
resellers. The beta tests follow a series of successful alpha tests
with General Magic personnel, which demonstrated the system's many
capabilities.
The beta service includes all the features that will be offered at
commercial launch -- fully integrated voice mail, e-mail, fax-send,
address book, calendar, stock market quotes and company news. Thanks to
the extensibility and scalability of its magicTalk platform, General
Magic also has the ability to incorporate additional features into the
Portico service as they are developed and tested.
"General Magic is adopting a sensible approach by load-testing Portico
with an increasingly larger audience of carriers, end-users,
technicians and analysts before making it commercially available," said
Alan Reiter, president of Wireless Internet & Mobile Computing, one of
the country's leading firms for wireless Internet analysis.
"The commencement of the beta trials is an important milestone for
General Magic on the road to offering a rock-solid service."
In accordance with U.S. securities law, General Magic notes that this
press release contains forward-looking statements. There are risks that
may cause actual results to vary materially. These risks include, but
are not limited to, the challenges inherent in the development and
delivery of complex technologies; market acceptance of the Company's
Portico service; the Company's dependence on establishing distribution
relationships; the Company's ability to respond to competitive
pressures; and the Company's reliance on attracting, retaining and
motivating key technical, marketing and management personnel. These and
other risk factors are detailed in General Magic's 1997 Form 10-K and
first quarter 1998 Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. About General Magic
General Magic, Inc. offers products and services that integrate voice
and data technologies making communications and access to information
easy and convenient for people, no matter where they are.
The Company's development efforts are founded on its patented agent
technology, innovative user-interface and communications-centric
designs to provide simple, yet effective ways for people to keep in
touch with the information they need to be successful.
The Company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more
information on General Magic and Portico, please visit the Company's
Web site at generalmagic.com .
Note to Editors: General Magic, Portico and magicTalk are trademarks of
General Magic, Inc.
-0- aj/sf* cmf/sf
CONTACT: General Magic
Buck Krawczyk, 408/774-4000
buck@generalmagic.com
or
Access Communications
Michelle Knoop, 415/904-7070 x286
mknoop@accesspr.com
or
The Financial Relations Board
Don Markley or Cathy Roberts, 415/986-1591
dxm@sf.frbd.com
KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS COMED TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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