Sierra Wireless’ AirCard Wins Top Honors at Mobile Insights
BOSTON — April 13, 2000 — Sierra Wireless' (TSE:SW.) AirCard(R) was honored with its second Mobility Award for "Best PC Card" during the sixth-annual Mobile Insights Conference held in Palm Desert, Calif. The AirCard 300, the industry's first network interface card (NIC), utilizing the Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) network, captured the same award won in 1997 by its precursor, the AirCard 210.
"Sierra Wireless is extremely pleased with this award," said Jeff Morris, director of marketing for Sierra Wireless. "We believe the AirCard has established itself as the product that best enables your laptop to stay wirelessly connected when you leave the office. We're gratified that the judges at Mobile Insights agree."
"The Mobility Awards have become the award in mobile computing," said Theresa Nozick, vice president of marketing research for Mobile Insights. "It's quite unusual for a family of products to win twice. The fact that the AirCard has done this reflects Sierra Wireless' consistent innovations in response to market needs."
For mobile professionals and enterprises that seek enhanced productivity and a competitive advantage, the AirCard family of products provides wireless access to networks and mission-critical information that is becoming increasingly necessary.
"The Sierra Wireless AirCard 300 for Microsoft Windows is my favorite product of 1999," wrote InfoWorld Test Center Senior Analyst Ana Orubeondo. "I really like the freedom that the AirCard 300 solution provides. The AirCard is a perfect solution for when I need a data connection anytime, anywhere."
The AirCard 210 debuted in 1997, offering multi-mode operation in a dual-card configuration. Sierra Wireless continues to offer the AirCard 210, along with its single-card, NIC-based AirCard 300.
MI 2000 Mobility Award winners were chosen by a select group of 35 mobile computing industry analysts and press representatives. Forty categories of mobile computing hardware and software were on this year's ballot, and more than 260 products were nominated.
First Wireless PC Card with Network Interface
The AirCard 300 is the first PC card cellular solution that uses a Network Device Interface Specification (NDIS). This unique feature means that the PC Card operates as a network adapter, not a modem. Just plug in the AirCard 300 and it automatically connects to the cellular network with no extra configuration steps – when the notebook is powered up, the AirCard 300 automatically connects to the cellular network, assuming service is available.
Additionally, notebook users are not affected by unrecoverable session terminations caused by suspend-and-resume functions as may be encountered with modems. Power management is optimized, and when the user resumes power, the cellular connection is seamlessly re-established.
For Product Information
Please contact Sierra Wireless at (604) 231-1100 and ask for the Sales Desk.
About Sierra Wireless
Sierra Wireless is a leading provider of wireless data communications hardware and software products. Sierra Wireless delivers wireless PC Cards for portable computers, rugged vehicle-mounted wireless modems and OEM modules for embedded applications. Sierra Wireless is the founding member of the WirelessReady Alliance, an alliance of industry-leading hardware, software and service companies committed to the delivery of complete and compelling wireless data solutions. The company's common shares are listed on The Toronto Stock Exchange and trade under the symbol "SW."
About Mobile Insights
Mobile Insights is the world's leading authority on mobile computing and data communications. Established in September 1994, the company provides professional services to vendors of hardware, software, and services in the mobile computing and data communications industry. In addition to market analysis, consulting, and publishing, Mobile Insights' service brands include: Mobile Letter, an electronic newsletter that provides reviews of new products and offers industry insights; MobileTrax Online, a syndicated continuous Internet information subscription service, publishing 50+ reports annually; the Mobility Awards, which are given annually to top products and services in 27 categories; Go Mobile, a new conference for leading Information Technology decision-makers; and the flagship Mobile Insights conference, an annual conference that brings together 400 to 500 of the mobile industry's key vendor executives. Mobile Insights' clients include 3Com, AMD, Compaq, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Toshiba, and more.
CONTACT: Sierra Wireless Inc.
Phoebe Yong, 604/231-1104
E-mail: yong@sierrawireless.com
or
Rolling Thunder Marketing
Tom Isaacson, 425/889-0528
E-mail: tomi@rolling-thunder.com