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Technology Stocks : Trimble Navigation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SKIP PAUL who wrote (2686)	8/17/1998 3:38:00 PM
From: arun gera	Respond to of 3506

Snaptrack scores, Does Trimble get anything out of it? SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 17, 1998--Japan's largest wireless communications provider, NTT DoCoMo, has licensed SnapTrack's groundbreaking client-server wireless location determination technology. This agreement brings together NTT DoCoMo's world-class expertise in developing cutting-edge wireless services and SnapTrack's innovative location technology to provide Japanese consumers the most advanced personal navigation system in the world. With plans to have the technology incorporated into multiple wireless devices, NTT DoCoMo intends to use SnapTrack's breakthrough wireless location technology to offer a series of location-based services ranging from directions to mobile yellow pages. SnapTrack combines the Global Positioning System (GPS), the worldis best navigation system, and a wireless telecommunications infrastructure to deliver accurate, cost-effective location. "We have built our customer base by identifying and developing new services to address user needs in mobile communications, and we believe wireless location determination will fulfill an emerging demand in the Japanese marketplace," said Masato Mori, Executive Manager of NTT DoCoMo. "This relationship with SnapTrack is part of our strategic effort to provide the most complete package of mobile communications services for our nearly 20 million subscribers." The agreement with NTT DoCoMo gives SnapTrack a unique opportunity to license its cellular-aided GPS technology to one of the world's largest wireless network providers, capitalizing on the tremendous growth of Japanis wireless telecommunications market. At June, 1998, Japan had more than 40 million wireless communications subscribers, with NTT DoCoMo having 48 percent share, according to recently published figures. "This is the first time anywhere in the world that a technology for locating portable wireless devices has been commercialized by a carrier," said Steve Poizner, SnapTrack president. "The safety and productivity of Japanese wireless subscribers can now be significantly enhanced by the addition of our cellular-aided GPS system."

To: SKIP PAUL who wrote (2686)	8/19/1998 4:48:00 PM
From: arun gera	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3506

Highway Master is Dying! All the players in the AVL services business are having a tough time (except Qualcomm). The AVL business of Rockwell, Motorola, and AMSC has been consolidated in AMSC. Geotek is nearing bankruptcy. Here is an S&P commentary on Highway Master: NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 19, 1998--Standard & Poor's today lowered its senior unsecured debt and corporate credit ratings on HighwayMaster Communications Inc. to triple-'C' plus from single-'B'-minus, affecting $125 million in original maturity debt. Standard & Poor's revised its outlook to negative from stable. The ratings reflect this fleet tracking company's relatively limited ability to penetrate the long haul trucking market, with new contract adds totaling only 3,500 for the second quarter 1998. HighwayMaster Communications Inc. provides integrated voice, data, and position location services primarily to the long-haul trucking market utilizing global positioning satellites in conjunction with cellular carrier airtime agreements. HighwayMaster provides a proprietary communications service for improved fleet management. The company has service agreements with about 70 cellular carriers for use of their wireless networks. These services, in combination with links to a satellite-based global positioning satellite (GPS) network, provide the basis for HighwayMaster's provisioning of mobile voice and locational services for fleet communications and monitoring. Limited customer growth in the company's comprehensive series 5000 product offering, coupled with disappointing market acceptance of the company's recently released series 3000, have resulted in stressed financial measures, and the company continues to incur operating cash flow deficits in the area of $3 million per month. The series 3000 is a less comprehensive, lower cost voice only offering introduced by the company earlier this year to enhance its growth prospects in the trucking sector. Cash balances of about $39 million therefore provide only a limited degree of financial flexibility. The company does not have any bank facilities currently available and has not yet identified its financing plans to cover cash shortfalls in the medium term. HighwayMaster has announced a restructuring of its operations and is reassessing its overall business plans and evaluating all its product lines, including its AutoLink consumer auto security system, which has not yet been introduced. The negative outlook reflects substantial uncertainty regarding prospects for large-scale adoption of the company's services, which are subject to the vagaries of market demand by the long haul trucking industry, a sector that is expected to exhibit fairly weak performance measures. This industry group will continue to have numerous competitive communications options, including services offered by the much larger, better capitalized Qualcomm Inc.'s OmniTRACS business, which holds the lion's share of the long haul vehicle location sector, including a substantial share of the larger account segment. Other mobile communications alternatives include cellular, PCS, ESMR, and paging services, all of which offer some of HighwayMaster's capabilities. Moreover, the more vulnerable players in the long haul trucking market may defer or discontinue communications expenditures. OUTLOOK: NEGATIVE Maintenance of ratings is predicated on the company's ability to significantly expand its customer base over the next six to 12 months, while maintaining rational pricing policies. -- CreditWire