GRiD Systems Announces Pen Interface and Handwriting Recognition Conference
FREMONT, Calif. — March 12, 1990 — A national conference on a new breakthrough technology — computers that recognize handwriting and use an electronic pen interface instead of a keyboard — will be held April 19 in Santa Clara, Calif.
Sponsored by GRiD Systems Corp., Fremont, Calif., the Pen Interface and Handwriting Recognition Conference will be the first national gathering ever held for software developers, Value-Added Resellers (VARs), corporate information managers and analysts who want to learn more about computers that use a pen interface instead of a keyboard. The day-long conference will be held at the Doubletree Hotel in Santa Clara.
Pen interface refers to electronic pen-to-screen technology. Pen interface computers incorporate an electronic pen to enable users to enter information by writing, typing or drawing rather than through the conventional keyboard or mouse.
The pen also can be used to select information from a menu, list or database, and to initiate a communications session to transfer or receive data.
''Based on the first six months of customer response to GRiDPAD, pen interface computers will clearly be one of the fast growing segments of the computer market. The pen interface is going to supplant the keyboard, mouse and wand in applications where notebook, laptop or even desktop computers are now used,'' said Alan Lefkof, president of GRiD Systems.
Conference panel discussions will be led by software developers who have pioneered pen interface and handwriting recognition applications. Sessions on the size of the market and the business potential for pen interface software will be conducted by industry consultants, including Tim Bajarin, Creative Strategies International; William Lempesis, Dataquest Research: Peter Teige, InfoCorp; and E. Gray Glass III, Prudential-Bache.
Commenting on market growth, Glass said, ''We would expect pen interface computers to be used by a majority of Fortune 1000 companies by 1995.''
Conference sessions are also scheduled to examine pen interface software currently available, customer requirements for implementing pen interface within large organizations, and productivity gains made possible by pen interface applications.
The conference also will discuss how software developers, VARs and corporate information managers and analysts can develop MS-DOS pen interface applications for vertical markets to run on the GRiDPAD. The GRiDPAD is a handheld, notebook-size, MS-DOS computer that uses pen interface technology and recognizes printed handwriting. GRiDPAD computers will be available for use by conference attendees for hands-on demonstrations of current pen interface applications.
Commercial applications that will be discussed at the conference will include: route delivery, service dispatch, market research, electronic mail, facsimile capabilities, scheduling and calendar management. Government applications to be discussed will include public safety, intelligence, census taking and customs inspection.
The advanced registration fee for the conference is $65, a $30 savings over the on-site registration fee of $95. To register for the Pen Interface and Handwriting Recognition Conference call Leilani Ribardo at GRiD Systems 415/656-4700, ext. 575.
GRiD manufactures and markets a comprehensive range of battery-powered laptop computers, industry-standard desktop computers, operating systems, software tools, portable peripherals and electronic mail/networking systems.
GRiD, with installed systems in more than one third of Fortune 500 companies, has a worldwide direct sales and support organization. The company also demonstrates products at more than 50 GRiD Systems Centers and sells products through application-specific value added resellers. GRiD is located in Fremont. GRiD also has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom 44-0-372-60266 and in Germany 49-0-211-4998-2971.
GRiD is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tandy Corp., Fort Worth, Texas. Tandy is a leading manufacturer and distributor of consumer electronics and computers. A New York Stock Exchange company, Tandy has sales in excess of $4 billion annually.
CONTACT:
GRiD Systems Corp., Fremont
Bob Goligoski, 415/656-4700 Press Release number GSC 90-02