Portable Life to Preview at Mobile Insights 2000
PALM DESERT, Calif. — March 6, 2000 — Portable Life (www.portablelife.com) today announced its strategy to become the ultimate resource for all people who use mobile and wireless devices. A vertical web portal that is rich in depth and breadth, Portable Life covers all aspects of mobile computing and communication with targeted in-depth interactive content and exclusive information and services.
With the sale of mobile phones, laptops, handheld organizers and smart pagers ready to eclipse desktop PCs this year, Portable Life addresses what millions of consumers need to know: how to choose the right products, how to get the most from what they buy, and where to get the best support. Portable Life will be the most reliable, relevant and readable source of information about mobile computing anywhere.
Portable Life will debut in April 2000 with an impressive list of supporters, including major mobile computing suppliers, partners and editorial contributors.
Best-in-class Partnerships
Partnerships with best-in-class companies enable the broad offerings of Portable Life. Value-added service partners will act as an extension of Portable Life and provide lifeline services to support those with a mobile lifestyle. Such services include on-line backup, remote printing, product support, and wireless content delivery. Content providers will bring favorite columnists and news from print-based publications to the web.
Inaugural partners include, for e-Commerce: iGo, Cellmania.com and Handango; for value-added services: Mimeo and PCSupport; and for content: Pen Computing. Their executives will be among the more than 350 others gathered here this week for the annual Mobile Insights industry conference, where Portable Life provides a "first peek" to the mobile computing vendor community.
Founded by Leading Industry Authority
Founded by Dr. Gerry Purdy, one of the world's leading authorities on mobile computing, Portable Life will target an estimated 50 million users of portable, laptop and handheld computers, mobile Internet devices, personal digital assistants and smart wireless phones/pagers.
This mobile device user base is expected to exceed 871 million worldwide by 2003, according to Dataquest and Gartner Group projections. The rapid growth will challenge the sales, technical support and remote service capabilities of retailers, vendors and corporate help desks, creating even more demand for Portable Life services and support.
"Personal digital devices are fast becoming pervasive in our society," said Dr. Gerry Purdy, leading mobile analyst and Portable Life's chairman and CEO. "We plan to be a one-stop, indispensable resource and digital companion to anyone seeking to realize more personal and professional value and satisfaction from mobile technology, no matter what the device-type."
World-class Management Team
Purdy, founder of industry consulting firm Mobile Insights, Inc. and a former lead analyst at Dataquest, has recruited a highly credentialed management team to lead the venture, which has been funded by an investment group headed by Monarch Partners.
Day-to-day operations of the Cupertino, Calif. company is overseen by president and COO Lou Panetta, former CEO of Fujitsu Personal Systems, Inc.; VP Mike Elgan, former editor of Windows Magazine and current president of the Computer Press Association, runs the editorial department; and Steve Cox, former VP of marketing at portal site Visto and director of business development at SkyTel, will head product marketing.
Differentiators
Portable Life is truly portable. People can visit the site either with a standard browser or a wireless WAP device. They can also choose to have content delivered to their e-mail addresses or to any phone, pager or pocket computer. Graphics in e-mail newsletters are portable as well. Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express users will see all the graphics and HTML formatting of the newsletters, even when laptops are not connected to the Internet.
"Portable Life will simplify and make sense of an increasingly complex and confusing market," said Mr. Lou Panetta, Portable Life president and COO. "We want consumers and corporations to turn to us for both authoritative advice and an innovative range of services. And we've designed these to be received in a highly personalized, relevant way that's compatible with their mobile lifestyles, multiple device needs and connectivity requirements. We will be the ombudsman for this important community."
Portable Life plans a unique mix of how-to content, product selection and purchase, remote assistance services, and multi-device delivery modes to accommodate the wide variety of users, ranging from savvy road warriors and mobile knowledge workers to corporate corridor cruisers and dorm-room digirati.
The service spectrum includes:
— "Have it your way" customized, user-specifiable news pushed out daily (in compressed text and multimedia formats)
— 16 different, product-specific newsletters delivered to any mobile device in native format for off-line viewing
— Unique product scoring and specification system (covering both technical and ergonomic criteria) to aid in selecting the product(s) that best match a user's specific requirements
— 200 mobile-specific articles a week
— Contributed stories from leading editorial figures and authors such as Dan Briody, Steve Wildstrom, Fred Langa, John Ruley and "The Gadget Grrl"
— Technical support facilities, including data back-up, virus and application updates, help desk and troubleshooting
— Traveler advisory and alert service, as well as a conferencing and calendaring system
— Online community exchange environments for Palm, ThinkPad, Windows CE and other special-interest affinity groups
— Web directory listing and linking to every help site for mobile users on the World Wide Web … the AOL of Mobility
— Special storefront where partners and sponsors' sales offers are featured and linked
— Polling Center, providing speak-out opportunities for frustrated users
— Loyalty and rewards programs for champions and evangelists
About Portable Life:
Portable Life is the ultimate resource for all people who use mobile technology. In today's wireless society, Portable Life provides a high-value, lifestyle-essential support service for mobile technology users everywhere. Available free, it integrates content, commerce, services and community in a highly individualized and customized way. Portable Life is the leading authority on mobile technology. It draws on insights, guidance and advice from both experts and real-world users to offer a rich, relevant and rewarding user experience, no matter what the interest, affinity or competency level. The website, www.portablelife.com, will go live late April 2000. Portable Life is based in Cupertino, California.
CONTACT:
Mike Elgan, V. P. Editorial Director of Portable Life, direct, 408-342-3511, or main, 408-861-1500, ext. 111; or Bridgit Vivian, 650-328-5555, ext. 117, or bvivian@nealemay.com, or Jesmine Peirce, 650-328-5555, ext. 140, or jpeirce@nealemay.com, both of Neale-May & Partners, for Portable Life.