Momentum Builds Behind PenPoint

October 21, 1991 — GO Monday announced a broad range of major computer manufacturers and software developers who are providing products for the PenPoint operating system.

”It’s clear that PenPoint is building momentum quickly,” said William V. Campbell, president and chief executive officer of GO Corp.  ”A wide range of hardware, software and connectivity products are under development around PenPoint. We’ve got the support it takes to pioneer the mobile computing market, and it shows at Comdex,” he added.

PenPoint is widely in evidence at Comdex. IBM is showing its PenPoint-specific pen computer on the exhibit floor for the first time.  New PenPoint machines are also being demonstrated by NCR, GRiD, Samsung, Hyundai, Logitech and WordPerfect in their exhibits.

Other hardware providers that have announced their support of PenPoint include Zenith, Wang, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, DEC, Philips, Sanyo, TriGem, Eden Group, MicroSlate, Tusk, Dauphin, Gazelle, Scriptel, Kurta, CalComp and Wacom.

Visitors to Comdex will also get a first look at many new horizontal ”pencentric” PenPoint applications. PenPoint is attracting the creative energies of the software development community much as the Apple Macintosh did in its early days.

Interest is high both with established companies and with innovative, venture captital-backed startups, which are forming at a rate not seen since the heyday of the personal computer in the early 1980s. These companies are creating products which are crafted especially for PenPoint’s pen-and-paper user interface, using its object-oriented development environment.

These include the previously announced PenApps and PenBook applications from Slate Corp. as well as new products such as PenPerfect from WordPerfect, PenSoft’s Personal Information Manager, InkWare from Ink, PenComm, PenCalc, and PenCrush from Notable, and Penguin from Pensee. In addition, Lotus Development Corp. is doing significant development for PenPoint.

These products will be among the first wave of applications for PenPoint. Since the public unveiling of PenPoint last January — where 40 independent software developers announced their intention to develop — GO has experienced an explosion of developer interest. Over 1,000 developers have attended PenPoint Developer training and the pipeline for new applications is full.

In addition to computers and applications, a variety of connectivity products are under development for PenPoint. These include wireless networking from Ardis, Motorola, and Photonics, spread spectrum radio networking from PenPad Communications, network client software for Sitka networks, and terminal emulation from CompSoft.  NetWare client software is also planned for development.

”With PenPoint, GO is targeting a market of new users — the mobile professionals,” said S. Jerrold Kaplan, chairman of GO.  ”These are the millions of white collar workers that do their work away from a desk. Mobile professionals spend their time face to face with others, in meetings, working with clients, or standing up and walking around.

”Examples include salespeople, consultants, managers, lawyers, inspectors and contractors. Today’s computer systems are designed for desk bound workers, and are too complex, obtrusive, and inflexible for use in these settings.”

PenPoint serves the unique needs of this new class of users. It is specifically designed around a pen and paper interface, to support lightweight, inexpensive, mobile pen computers in a variety of sizes and shapes. Detachable wired and wireless connectivity is built right in, and the interface automatically scales to machines from shirt-pocket size to wall board size.

GO Corp., a privately held company headquartered in Foster City, Calif., develops, markets and supports a pen operating system and applications designed to support mobile users worldwide.

CONTACT:
GO Corp., Foster City
Marcia Mason, 415/358-2000
or
Regis McKenna Inc., Palo Alto, Calif.
Mari Mineta Clapp, 415/354-4449