Consumers Can Now Buy Software Directly from a Personal Intelligent Communicator
SAN JOSE, Calif. — October 30, 1995 — Nimble Corporation of Seattle, Washington, today announced the launch of the world's first "store" on a personal intelligent communicator, making it possible for users to buy software for communicators running the Magic Cap operating system anywhere a phone line is available. This store, known as "Outfitters Direct(SM)," operates on all Magic Cap-based communicators, including the Sony Magic Link and the Motorola Envoy. Outfitters Direct is the first development to make possible software distribution to a communicator without the mediation of a desktop computer.
"A Magic Cap device is convenient and powerful, but until now, the lack of a floppy disk drive made inexpensive software distribution very difficult to achieve," said William J. Adams, president of Nimble.
"Applications are the key to Magic Cap's usefulness," said Kenneth N. Sherman, Chairman of Nimble, in announcing Outfitters Direct at the first annual Magic Cap Developers Conference sponsored by General Magic. "Now developers all over the world for the first time will have the ability to sell their Magic Cap software round-the-clock, and users will have a door to the exciting world of Magic Cap software in their devices."
General Magic officials said they expect a number of applications to be made available in the next year, opening up new avenues for the application environment of Magic Cap communicators.
One industry observer said today, "Outfitters Direct will make purchasing new packages for your Magic Cap communicator incredibly simple. I am particularly excited about Nimble's 'software store' because Magic Cap developers' once challenging task of software distribution will become effortless, making Magic Cap an even more appealing prospect to new creators of services and applications."
Outfitters Direct, based on patent pending, Nimble technology, enables users to browse the automatically updated software catalog easily by going to the "Downtown" scene on the communicator where they will see the Outfitters Direct store. "Users need only a standard telephone line and a valid credit card to purchase software. No connection kit or other specialized hardware is required," Mr. Sherman said.
Users browse the catalog off-line at their leisure without a telephone connection. When a desired product is found, it is ordered simply by touching the "order" button. Once the user is finished shopping, the bill is tallied and the order form is ready to be sent at any time to Outfitters Direct by touching the "buy" button. Only then does the communicator need to be plugged into the telephone line via a standard telephone jack.
The client software is free to the user, and the telephone call is free within the U.S. and Canada. "We are pleased to provide a way for users to experience the world of Magic Cap by conveniently securing new and improved software instantly," commented Mr. Adams.
Steve Knox, president of Driftwood Systems, a Telescript and Magic Cap developer currently developing an information service to be hosted on Telescript-based networks, commented, "We at Driftwood Systems are very happy to market our games, MCSolitaire and MindBender, through Outfitters Direct. The Magic Cap market has needed a low cost, easy-to- use distribution mechanism. We expect this announcement to encourage other developers to bring additional products to market now."
Nimble Corporation provides pen-based and communications-centric software products for leading computer and telecommunications companies including AT&T, Matsushita and Motorola.
CONTACT:
Kenneth N. Sherman of Nimble Corporation, 206-340-4400, Ext. 107, or [email protected];
or
Leo Murray of PR Associates, 212-247-8760