AT&T, EO Inc. and GO Corp. Announce Communication Link Development Kit
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — October 19, 1993 — AT&T, EO Inc. and GO Corp. Tuesday announced that they are opening the PenPoint application programming interface for GO Mail communication links, and will include the API in the GO Message Center Development Kit.
GO Mail is the universal messaging interface that comes with PenPoint. With the new development kit, developers can very quickly bring to market Mail links for public, host and LAN-based Email systems. The kit provides most of the code needed to create a communication link, so developers can deliver compelling customer solutions spanning a broad range of communications needs.
"Electronic mail is an essential aspect of personal communications, allowing mobile professionals to stay in touch with co-workers, customers and suppliers wherever they go," said Alain Rossmann, president and chief executive officer of EO Inc. "This Mail Link API allows developers to quickly and easily develop software to connect Personal Communicators to any Email or information network."
All messaging links developed with this kit will plug into existing PenPoint applications: GO Mail (the Email user interface), Perspective (the organizer and address book where users store phone, fax, Email and other contact information), and PenPoint's universal In box and Out box. New links work exactly like existing ones, so there is nothing for users to learn. And since developers have virtually no user interface to write, time to market can be dramatically accelerated.
To date, EO Inc. and GO Corp. have produced links for Novell's MHS (message handling service) and AT&T EasyLink Services' AT&T Mail. Both are currently available for the AT&T EO 440 and AT&T EO 880. Sharpened Software of Seattle is using the kit to develop a link using standard Internet and Unix Email protocols. ISVs can now take advantage of the kit to develop links for a wide range of public, host and LAN-based Email systems, such as cc:Mail, Microsoft Mail, PROFS, CompuServe, MCI Mail and SprintMail, all using GO Mail and the other applications already found on every EO Personal Communicator.
The communication link API has been added to the GO Message Center Development Kit, available from EO Inc. and GO Corp. for $39.95. For more information, contact EO/GO Customer Services at 415/358-2040.
The AT&T EO Personal Communicators are devices that put fax, electronic mail, cellular phone and personal computing capabilities into the hands of mobile users.
In June 1993, AT&T purchased a majority in EO Inc. On Aug. 13, AT&T announced the intention to merge EO Inc. and GO Corp. into a single company with the technologies to deliver the platform of choice for Personal Communicators. This represents a major step toward creating a new standard for this emerging market, offering customers compelling communications-oriented products.
EO Inc., headquartered in Mountain View, was founded in 1991 by AT&T; Palo Alto, Calif.-based venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers; Matsushita; and Marubeni. The partners contribute technical and marketing expertise and funding. In addition, EO has announced a strategic partnership with Olivetti, Europe's leading computer manufacturer.
NOTE TO EDITORS: EO and the EO logo are trademarks of EO Inc. PenPoint is a registered trademark of GO Corp. All other products or brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
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