New Geoworks Operating System Software Delivers Communications Power For Mobile Computing

New Geoworks Operating System Software Delivers Communications Power For Mobile Computing

GEOS® 3.0 provides universal mailbox for voice, e-mail, fax and paging messages and support for industry standard wireless communication protocols

ALAMEDA, Calif. (July 10, 1995) -- A new version of operating system software from Geoworks (NASDAQ/NMS:GWRX) will deliver comprehensive communications capabilities to affordable mobile consumer devices and enable the company to further penetrate this growing market. A universal mailbox facility for processing electronic mail, voice, paging and fax messages, is the centerpiece of the GEOS 3.0 operating system. Particularly well suited for the rapidly growing cellular market and the emerging smartphone category, GEOS 3.0 supports the leading industry standard protocols for wireless communications and delivers a new level of integrated communications functionality to mobile consumer devices.

Versions of the GEOS operating system have already been licensed to nine leading hardware companies including Nokia, Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba to build smart phones, organizers/PDAs and mobile companions.

"The goal of GEOS 3.0 is to deliver a total solution to our partners so they can create easy-to-use, fully- functional, low-cost products for the expanding mobile consumer computing device market," said Gordon Mayer, president and CEO of Geoworks. "GEOS 3.0 now delivers a comprehensive communications solution for this market, while meeting its stringent code size, cost and battery-life requirements."

The extensive communications capabilities in GEOS 3.0 add only 150 kilobytes of memory to the size of the operating system, which operates efficiently in as little as half a megabyte of RAM. The new communications features and the ability of GEOS' patented user interface technology to support multiple interface designs for different manufacturers, make GEOS 3.0 the ideal operating system for a broad range of devices in the growing mobile market.

"Over the next five years, we expect the worldwide handheld market to post a 50% compound-annual growth rate," noted Mike McGuire, mobile products analyst with Dataquest, a market research firm in San Jose, CA. "We believe that devices with easy-to-use, integrated communications will drive handheld devices into the hands of users in the broader horizontal market. The universal mailbox and extensive communications support in GEOS 3.0 will enable Geoworks licensees to deliver handhelds with the kind of functionality that elevates the product category beyond the current state-of-the-art."

New features of GEOS 3.0 include a powerful mailbox library which provides a universal inbox/outbox so users can send, receive, store and forward a variety of messages including voice, fax, electronic mail and pages from a single screen. GEOS 3.0 also includes support for standard communications protocols such as transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) and serial line Internet protocol/point-to-point protocol (SLIP/PPP) that enable users to connect to different types of public information sources such as the Internet. Seamless movement of data between applications, for example from an address book to a calendar, and between devices, through industry standard protocols as well as infrared connections, further enhance the communications power of the new GEOS operating system.

The Emerging Smartphone Market

According to market research conducted by Nokia Mobile Phones, the world's second largest manufacturer of cellular phones, the cellular market is estimated to be growing annually by at least 40 percent and expected to approach an installed base of 200 million units by the year 2000; more than half those units are expected to support digital communications standards. By supporting standard communications delivery systems including the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) standard, narrowband and broadband Personal Communications Services (PCS) networks and Personal Handy Phone System (PHS) networks, GEOS 3.0 is well-positioned to be a leading operating system for a new class of worldwide digital communications products -- smart phones -- that will combine the best of cellular phone and wireless data capabilities.

"After a thorough technical review of mobile operating system options, we selected Geoworks as our partner in pioneering the smartphone category. We are excited about the communications capabilities, memory efficiency, and cost- competitiveness provided by GEOS 3.0, and intend to leverage it and our advanced cellular phone technology to drive the market with our new product offerings," said Reijo Paajanen, vice president, Wireless Data, Nokia Mobile Phones.

About Geoworks

GEOS is a leading compact, object-oriented operating system offering a patented, flexible user interface that allows hardware manufacturers to develop customized user interfaces that best meet the needs of their customers while delivering the benefits of an open platform. Geoworks' continued focus on efficiency enables the development of affordable, feature-rich devices, key product requirements essential to the success and growth of the consumer computing device (CCD) market.

Geoworks partners that have adopted GEOS technology include an impressive list of leading manufacturers such as Brother International Corp., Canon Business Machines, Casio Computer Co., Hewlett-Packard Company, IBM/Eduquest, Sharp Electronics Corporation and Toshiba Corporation. In addition, the company has received significant equity investments from Nokia Group, Hewlett-Packard Company and Novell, Inc. and has agreements with communications providers such as America Online.

For additional information on Geoworks and GEOS 3.0, contact Geoworks at 1-510-814-1660.