3Com PalmPilot Connected Organizer Receives Top Industry Awards at Comdex ’97
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — November 25, 1997 — 3Com Corp. (Nasdaq:COMS) today announced that its market-leading PalmPilot connected organizer received major industry recognition at this year's Comdex, the computer industry's largest U.S. exhibition. 3Com's Palm Computing division won awards from three leading trade publications that closely monitor the handheld computing market. PC/Computing Magazine awarded the PalmPilot Professional Edition connected organizer with its MVP award for the handheld computing category, PC Portables named the PalmPilot organizer the handheld computing product of the year, and Home Office Computing gave the product its annual Editors' Choice award.
The awards coincide with other significant milestones for the PalmPilot product. Last week, research firm Dataquest (San Jose, Calif.) announced a study showing that the PalmPilot connected organizer currently holds 66% of the worldwide standard handheld computer market. In addition, 3Com recently shipped its one millionth unit after just eighteen months of shipping, breaking a computer industry record for the fastest time to one million units of any computer hardware product ever. As demand increases for cost-effective solutions for mobile enterprise data management, the product is quickly becoming the standard for handheld computing in many major corporations across the U.S.
"With the PalmPilot connected organizer, 3Com has created a product with an ideal form-factor, unparalleled ease of use, affordable pricing and incredible functionality," said Rick Broida, editor-in-chief of Tap, a journal for users of the PalmPilot products. "Unsurprisingly, the PalmPilot platform has attracted hundreds of third-party developers, who continue to move the device in exciting directions — including such enterprise and vertical industries as health care, sales-force automation and banking and finance."
There are over 3,500 registered developers of PalmPilot platform solutions, an important element of the product's success. Among the many third-party PalmPilot solutions showcased at the 3Com PalmPilot developer pavilion at Comdex were wireless modems, an integrated wireless paging device, Web browsers, custom forms creation tools, e-mail and PIM (Personal Information Management) connectivity software, server synchronization tools and a wide variety of applications for remote enterprise data management.
"We are honored to receive such great recognition from our industry peers. This is a validation of the PalmPilot products not only as the leading solutions for handheld computing, but as a platform for creating mission-critical business applications," said Ed Colligan, vice president of marketing for the Palm Computing division of 3Com. "With the help of our fast-growing developer community and the strength of partners like IBM, Symbol Technologies and Franklin Covey, we will aggressively build on our current momentum to foster continued growth in a broad range of market sectors."
In addition, the recently announced Pager Card for the PalmPilot organizer was nominated for PC Week's Best of Comdex award. The Pager Card, co-developed by Motorola FASD (Flex Architecture Solutions Division) and PageMart Wireless, adds wireless alpha and text messaging to the PalmPilot organizer while maintaining the same ultra-portable form factor. Available in the first quarter of 1998, the Pager Card will be branded by PageMart and co-marketed by PageMart and 3Com.
For more information on the PalmPilot products and the PalmPilot platform, visit http://www.palmpilot.com .
About 3Com 3Com Corporation enables individuals and organizations worldwide to communicate and share information and resources at anytime from anywhere. As one of the world's preeminent suppliers of data, voice and video communications technology, 3Com has delivered networking solutions to more than 100 million customers worldwide. With global reach and local touch, the company provides enterprises, network service providers and carriers, small businesses and consumers with comprehensive, innovative information access products and system solutions for building intelligent, reliable and high performance local and wide area networks. 3Com has worldwide revenues of approximately $ 6.0 billion and employs about 13,200 employees in 45 countries. For further information, visit 3Com's World Wide Web site at http://www.3com.com, or the press site at http://www.3com.com/pressbox .
Note to Editors: 3Com and the 3Com logo are registered trademarks, and PalmPilot is a trademark of 3Com Corporation or its subsidiaries. All other brands and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
CONTACT:
A&R Partners
Allen Bush, 650/363-0982, ext. 228
abush@arpartners.com
or
3Com Corp., Palm Computing division
Liz Brooking, 650/237-6000
lbrookin@palm.com