Newton, Inc. Announces Upgrade to Network Access Capabilities
CUPERTINO, Calif. — July 1, 1997 — Newton, Inc. today announced that it is enhancing its network connectivity for Newton-based devices this fall when it ships the Newton Internet Enabler 2.0. Newton, Inc. will be demonstrating this capability on Apple's award-winning eMate product at this week's National Education Computing Conference in Seattle. The new ethernet connectivity capability for Newton-based devices, such as the MessagePad 2000 and the eMate 300, will enable them to easily integrate into existing campus and enterprise Local Area Network (LAN) environments.
"With this latest announcement, Newton OS-based devices have one of the strongest Internet capabilities, compared with other mobile devices on the market today," said Newton, Inc.'s chief operating officer, Sandy Benett. NIE 2.0 represents a significant enhancement for eMate customers who will now be able to seamlessly connect the eMate to their existing campus networks. NIE 2.0 allows direct Ethernet and LocalTalk connectivity with native TCP/IP support for much easier connection to the Internet.
"We are delighted to be showing NIE 2.0 running on the Apple eMate 300 product at this week's National Education Computing Conference," commented Robert Kondrk, senior manager, Education Product Marketing, for Apple Computer, Inc. "Strong network connectivity is a key component of our vision of the Distributed Learning Environment. With the release of NIE 2.0, the eMate will now plug right into the existing schools network."
Beyond the advantages to eMate 300 customers, NIE 2.0 extends Newton, Inc.'s lead in the mobile, Internet-enabled device arena. Commented Wayne Yurtin, Vice President of Marketing for AllPen Software, the developers of NetHopper, "We are excited to be working with Newton, Inc. as the provider of the Internet browsing solution for both eMate and the MessagePad 2000."
Newton Inc. will be working closely with market-leading networking partners, such as Farallon and Proxim, to provide complete solutions for customers. "As part of our strategic relationship with Newton, Inc., Farallon will be providing Ethernet PC Card support for the eMate and the MessagePad 2000 in conjunction with the introduction of NIE 2.0," said Georganne Benesch, vice president, LAN division at Farallon. "When combined with our other Newton networking solutions such as our LocalTalk to Ethernet Adapters, we are solidifying our position as a Newton networking leader."
The added ethernet capability of NIE 2.0 is also an important development for healthcare customers. Working with Proxim, the leading provider of wireless solutions for healthcare, Newton, Inc. now has an extremely cost-effective, intranet-based offering for the healthcare market. "We are pleased to be working closely with Newton, Inc. as it rolls out this capability to healthcare customers," noted Proxim's vice president of sales and marketing, Brian Button.
NIE provides support for standard Internet and communications protocols such as TCP, IP, UDP, DHCP, MacIP, PPP, SLIP, PAP, and CHAP. Software applications that use NIE allow users to of Newton-based devices to interact with TCP/IP networks through public Internet Service Providers and private intranets.
NIE 2.0, which will be available in the fall, will be bundled with Newton devices and available on Newton, Inc.'s web site (http://www.newton.com).Well over two dozen companies already provide applications which use NIE, from e-mail software, to web browsers, terminal emulation products, and custom applications.
Background
Newton, Inc. develops products and licensable technologies to meet the computing and communications needs of today's corporate mobile users. It's primary focus is on the markets where it has already achieved considerable success with the MessagePad 2000 and eMate 300 product, including healthcare, sales force automation, field service industries; and education. The company provides Newton technologies, which are a flexible set of proven, state-of-the-art hardware, software, development tools, communications technologies, APIs, and documentation to enable the development of cost-effective, cross-platform, custom for these target markets.
For more information, visit the Newton website currently located at: http://www.newton.apple.com.
NOTE: MessagePad, and Newton are registered trademarks of Newton, Inc. and eMate is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.
SOURCE Newton Inc.
CONTACT:
Robin Diane Goldstein of Newton Systems Group, 408-974-9534, or robin@newton.apple.com