I think this is where it may lead to for those individuals who don't do P.C.'s : a less than $100 device to pay your bills...The banks will supply 'em...
biz.yahoo.com
Monday June 21, 9:08 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
CIDCO's Sub-$100 MailStation Brings Simple and Affordable E-mail to Consumers Without the Need for a Personal Computer
"Post-PC Era" Information Appliance Designed for Simplicity, Dedicated Functionality
MORGAN HILL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 21, 1999-- With the introduction of its breakthrough sub-$100 MailStation(TM) Information Appliance, CIDCO Incorporated (NASDAQ:CDCO - news) is delivering e-mail to the mass consumer audience of individuals who do not have their own personal PC. With e-mail quickly becoming a worldwide phenomenon and often providing a more convenient and affordable way to keep in touch than the telephone, CIDCO's MailStation is ideal for a large segment of the population that is without a PC. Compact, portable and easy-to-use, the MailStation will usher in a new era in communications.
The MailStation comes with an integrated graphical pop-up display and a nearly full size keyboard conducive to comfortable composing of numerous e-mails. Capable of operating on AA batteries for portability or via AC wiring, the MailStation arrives completely configured with the user's pre-selected e-mail address and Internet settings. The device only requires connection to any standard telephone jack for immediate sending and receiving of e-mail messages. Battery powered, the device is portable for use in any room in the home or outside of the home while out on the road.
''The MailStation is a true information appliance that moves us into the Post-PC Era,'' said Gary Arlen, president of analyst firm Arlen Communications Inc., Bethesda, MD. ''E-mail is the most popular service in the online world and the MailStation allows everybody to take advantage of this medium. It is an impressive device that will enable non PC users to enter the e-mail environment easily; it also lets current PC users communicate with friends and family who don't have a computer handy.''
CIDCO's MailStation is available now at the toll free 800 number, 1-800-718-1242, and will be available in July from the company's web site (www.cidco.com). Users can purchase the device for $99.95 when a year's subscription to the CIDCO MailStation service is paid for in advance. Should the user wish to pay the service charge on a month-to-month basis with no time commitment, the MailStation will retail for $149.95 and $9.95 a month.
MailStation--The Post Office for the Post-PC Era
E-mail has become both a business and social phenomenon. According to recent industry studies, 84 percent of all Internet users ''cannot live'' without e-mail. In the last 24 hours, 30 million people used e-mail, including four million who are not regular Internet users, and by 2001, 135 million people will be e-mail users generating more than seven trillion messages a year. Until now, however, e-mail usage has been limited to those with a PC or technically savvy business travelers who have adopted niche-oriented devices for e-mail retrieval while away from the office.
The MailStation is designed for broad-based usage across multiple demographic groups such as grandparents wishing to communicate with grandkids, baby boomers without a PC seeking to stay in touch with friends online, and consumers working in non-technology driven professions but who want to communicate with those who work on a PC all day long. The MailStation weighs in at a lean 2.2 pounds, is smaller than an 8x11 piece of paper and has a keyboard that is 85 percent as large as that found on a standard PC. Additionally, the unit's graphical screen displays a crisp picture-driven user interface and text messages.
In an effort to make the device as simple as possible for consumers who may be dealing with e-mail for the first time, CIDCO programs the user's e-mail address and Internet settings at the time of order so that the unit is ready to use right out of the box. Upon arrival, the consumer simply connects the MailStation to a standard phone jack; presses the ''Get Mail'' button and becomes part of the e-mail revolution. A ''New Message'' light alerts the user to unread mail and the device takes less than a minute on the average to send and receive mail via an integrated modem. If the consumer wishes to keep the MailStation plugged into the phone line for periodic polling, the device will not tie up the phone line. It quickly handles the sending and retrieval of e-mail messages (between 300-400 typical e-mails can be stored at a given time) and then disconnects thus allowing the phone line to remain free for standard phone calls. The device also provides an electronic calendar/address book and spellchecker.
''I was surprised at how easy it is to use, especially compared to a computer,'' said Dottie Ferrang, a 59-year-old Dayton, Ohio resident who participated in MailStation field trials. ''I have used e-mail on a laptop computer to stay in touch with my six children and my grandchildren but the MailStation is much less complicated. Even my husband, who would never use a computer, has become interested in using e-mail since the MailStation arrived.''
MailStation Delivers E-mail and More
''Our goal with the MailStation was to create an eminently affordable information appliance designed for a mass consumer audience to use e-mail and receive popular information services without the need for a PC,'' said CIDCO's CEO and co-founder Paul Locklin.
''Our mission has always been to provide the world's easiest-to-use personal communications products and services,'' Locklin continued. ''By designing, manufacturing, marketing and distributing more than 28 million advanced network appliances, such as Caller ID display units and network feature phones, we have gained significant experience that enabled us to create and deliver the MailStation.''
The MailStation delivers e-mail and more. Each MailStation user receives an e-mail account and unlimited e-mail usage. Through CIDCO's ClipMail(TM) technology (soon to be provided along with the unlimited e-mail usage in the unit's $9.95 monthly service charge), consumers will be able to take advantage of other information services such as weather reports, financial information, sports and a range of additional information commonly found through the Internet. MailStation users can have up to five individual e-mail accounts on the unit for an additional $3.00 per month. Additionally, the MailStation monthly service also provides a web-based mailbox that will mirror all of the user's messages received on the MailStation. It has been designed for users to receive attachment files or large volumes of mail not designed to be handled by the first generation MailStation.
About CIDCO Incorporated
CIDCO Incorporated (NASDAQ:CDCO - news), founded in 1988, is a worldwide leader in telephony products, services and appliances that empower consumers to communicate simply and easily over advanced networks and the Internet. Through its alliances with many of the world's leading telephone companies, CIDCO develops advanced network appliances such as network feature telephones, Caller ID devices, voice mail navigation appliances and Internet appliances that enable consumers to maximize the value of telephony networks and Internet services. CIDCO introduced its first Internet appliance in 1998 for a world moving into the developing Internet appliance era and is extending this vision to devices that will make e-mail and other information services readily available to consumers that don't have access to or require traditional computers. The company is headquartered in Morgan Hill, California at the south end of Silicon Valley. For additional information, visit www.cidco.com or call (408) 779-1162.
MailStation and ClipMail are trademarks of CIDCO Incorporated. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
In addition to the historical information contained herein, this press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Federal securities laws and are subject to the safe harbors created thereby. The following are among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements: business conditions and growth in the telecommunications industry and general economies, both domestic and international; lower than expected customer orders; competitive factors; changes in product mix or distribution channels; and technological difficulties and resource constraints encountered in developing and/or introducing new products. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release regarding industry trends, product development and introductions, sales, and future business activities should be considered in light of these factors and those factors discussed from time to time in the Company's public reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, such as those discussed under '' Factors that May Affect Future Results in the Company's report on form 10K for the year ended December 31, 1999.
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Contact:
McGrath/Power Public Relations
Nadia Jamshidi or John Denniston, (408) 727-0351 |
