Silicon Valley Team Develops Affordable, Full-Featured Wireless Internet Service for Consumer Market; Allows Wireless Service Operators to Leverage Next-Generation Networks
LA JOLLA, Calif., DEMOmobile 2001 (September 6, 2001) — Danger, Inc. today announced its integrated wireless Internet solution with the first public demonstration of the Hiptop. The Danger Hiptop is a live device that seamlessly connects to wireless networks providing consumers the freedom to browse the entire Internet, exchange instant messages and send and receive email with attachments. Additional Hiptop features include a full-featured phone, personal information management (PIM), entertainment applications and a camera accessory. "We have designed our product and service from the ground up to make mobile communication with friends, family and co-workers easy, fun and affordable," said Andy Rubin, president and CEO of Danger, Inc.
The Hiptop marks a break in the evolution of mobile devices. Many of today's devices promise the wireless Internet but none deliver the full Internet and online experience in the mobile environment. "Personal organizers do a good job storing phone numbers and appointments but require expensive equipment and confusing configurations for an Internet connection. Cell phones are great for voice calls but users are restricted to less than one percent of the Internet and must use number keypads to interact with data. Two-way pagers have made important contributions such as the thumb keyboard but fall short on usability, attachments, graphics, sound and style. The Hiptop solves these shortcomings and delivers the entire Internet at your fingertips," continues Rubin.
Jim Forbes, industry analyst and producer of DEMOmobile adds, "The industrial design of the Hiptop is certainly innovative; however, the fundamental differentiator allowing Danger to redefine the category is their back-end service that supports the device. This active state technology allows Danger to break the price barrier and deliver a compelling consumer offering. The service does the heavy computing and continually updates the user with new services and capabilities without the need for expensive new hardware."
Danger provides an integrated solution for wireless service operators consisting of a live back-end service, a platform that uses standard development tools, and Hiptop hardware designs. The Danger solution is designed to evolve with advancements in hardware, software and network standards, providing a low-risk, future-proof platform for content and service delivery. The resulting infrastructure is highly flexible and enables service providers and application developers to introduce products and services to market quickly. The Danger architecture provides a new level of remote application and device management, improving the consumer experience while reducing support costs.
The Hiptop will be introduced to the consumer market through Danger's wireless carrier partners. The company expects to make additional announcements regarding partnerships, pricing and product availability in the coming months.
About Danger, Inc.
Founded in January 2000, Danger, Inc. is a privately held company based in Palo Alto, California. Backed by SBVC with $11 million in Series A financing, Danger was founded by former Apple, Philips and WebTV veterans Andy Rubin, Joe Britt and Matt Hershenson. Guided by the principles of style and affordability, Danger has created an integrated wireless Internet experience that delivers the freedom to communicate where you want, when you want and how you want.
Additional information about the company, partnerships and employment opportunities is available at http://www.danger.com.
About DEMOmobile 2001
The annual DEMOmobile conference focuses exclusively on the products and technologies that are shaping the mobile and wireless technology marketplace. Demonstrators are hand-selected by executive producers Chris Shipley and Jim Forbes. Top executives from the leading hardware and software technology companies, venture capitalists, journalists from key industry publications and industry analysts attend the DEMOmobile conference to preview the most promising products and technologies for the coming year. For more information, visit http://www.idgexecforums.com/demomobile.
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"Danger" and "Hiptop" are trademarks of Danger, Inc.