Reduced RAM results in lower-cost devices
ALAMEDA, Calif., Oct. 25, 1994 -- Offering consumer electronics companies
new levels of performance and opportunities to develop lower-cost
computing devices, Geoworks (NASDAQ/NMS: GWRX) today announced GEOS 2.1, a
powerful new version of the company s compact, object-oriented operating
system. GEOS 2.1 requires half as much memory to operate, allows more
applications to run simultaneously, and dramatically reduces the time it
takes to switch between applications.
The company made the announcement today at the annual American Electronics
Association meeting in Monterey, Calif.
GEOS is one of the leading software operating systems licensed by major
hardware manufacturers to run a range of consumer computing devices such
as PDAs, mobile computers and desktop PCs. The innovative GEOS operating
system is unique in its combination of a flexible graphical user interface
that is easily customized for a specific product, its power, its low
memory requirements and low cost--making it ideal for low-cost consumer
products.
Along with boosting performance and reducing memory usage, GEOS 2.1 offers
the Stylus User Interface(TM), a new option designed specifically for more
advanced, second-generation PDAs and other pen-based computing devices.
The new interface supports applications developed for previous versions of
GEOS. GEOS 2.1 includes improved PCMCIA support, allowing application
developers to distribute font and preference modules with their
applications.
"Geoworks is dedicated to helping make sophisticated, easy-to-use, low-
cost computing products available to as many people as possible, and GEOS
2.1 is another major step in that direction," said Gordon Mayer, Geoworks
president and chief executive officer. "Unlike our competitors, we aren't
waiting for Moore's Law to bring device prices down. With GEOS 2.1, our
partners can deliver powerful computing products for $300 to $500 today."
Unique Market Understanding Geoworks is one of the few companies with
products that have been in the PDA market for more than a year. The
company s experience with the GEOS-based Casio and Tandy PDAs, launched in
late 1993, has given Geoworks a rich understanding of what consumers want
in PDA performance: ease-of-use and low price. This real market experience
has driven many of the GEOS 2.1 enhancements.
The performance and memory gains of GEOS 2.1 are achieved in large part by
converting most of the system objects to execute in place (XIP). With XIP,
software is "pre-loaded" into the read-only memory (ROM) of a PDA or
mobile computer when it is built and then executed directly from
ROM--instead of being loaded into RAM first. This streamlines the
execution of both operating system and applications, reducing both memory
requirements and the time it takes to switch between applications. Also,
because the software requires less memory, more applications can be used
simultaneously without increasing the amount of expensive RAM built into
the product.
By working closely with people performing common tasks with PDAs, Geoworks
began work to make GEOS even easier to use. Enhancements include:
enlarging text fields to better accommodate various handwriting
techniques; enlarging various on-screen icons and text fields to improve
readability; and changing and simplifying the way people navigate through
menus. GEOS 2.1 is expected to ship in products in 1995.
To establish GEOS as a leading operating system platform for consumer
computing devices Geoworks is establishing partnerships with the world s
leading computer hardware vendors, independent software developers,
communication services providers and mass market distributors. To date the
company has relationships with America On-Line, Canon Business Machines,
Inc., Casio Computer Co., Ltd., CompuServe, Inc., IBM EduQuest, Motorola,
Inc., Sharp Corporation, Tandy Corporation and Toshiba Corporation. In
addition, Hewlett-Packard Company and Novell, Inc., have made significant
equity investments in the company.
Geoworks develops and markets operating system and application software
for the emerging consumer computing device (CCD) market. CCDs include
mobile devices, information appliances and set-top boxes for interactive
television.
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CONTACT:
Megan Manning
Copithorne & Bellows
(415) 975-2217
Deborah Dawson
Geoworks
(510) 814-5750
-- -Brian Smithson brian@grot.starconn.com