General Magic Details Strategic Direction; Will Offer Network Service Solution to Mobile Small Business Professionals
SUNNYVALE, Calif. — February 12, 1997 — General Magic, Inc. (NASDAQ:GMGC) today articulated its strategic direction to offer an Internet-based network service solution to small business professionals.
Elements of the service — which will build upon General Magic's heritage of innovation in graphical-user-interface design, integrated communications and intelligent mobile agent technology — are scheduled to be rolled out in mid 1998.
"Since the beginning, General Magic has stood for a single idea: to provide to the non-technical, everyday user the ability to easily communicate and obtain access to valuable information," said Steve Markman, General Magic chairman, CEO and president. "With today's announcement, we make public our strategy to take that idea into the Internet space, and give users those capabilities no matter where they are or what device they use."
Markman added, "With a streamlined organization and our new management team in place, we are in a solid position to apply our expertise to make the network an easier and friendlier place for small business professionals."
The new network solution will deliver easy-to-use communications capabilities and content services, personalized for the user, all accessible via most common desktop or mobile devices. The company also plans to work with key partners to develop and deliver new access devices designed to work easily and seamlessly with the network solution.
Both the service and the access devices will be focused on the needs of the mobile professional in the SOHO (Small Office, Home Office) market.
"As we pursue this new strategy, we are fundamentally changing our business model," Markman said. "We are moving away from complete reliance on licensing fees and royalties, and moving toward direct revenue from products and services. This will allow us to create strong, long-term relationships with our customers and increase the company's control over its own destiny."
Today's announcements reflect the latest step in General Magic's implementation of its strategic direction, announced in June 1996. Since that time, the company has:
— strengthened the management team, and installed Markman, a former executive vice president at Novell and veteran of the network business, as head of the company
— downsized the organization by approximately 50% to increase focus and gain better control of spending
— integrated Internet standards into new products
— migrated customers away from proprietary networks by using Presto!Links, a graphical Internet browser for handheld communicators
— contributed to the growing demand for agent innovation by working with standards bodies and key customers
— shipped the new version of the Magic Cap operating system to our partners (See later paragraph entitled "New Version of Magic Cap.")
Additional Announcements
Patent for Agent Technology
Yesterday, General Magic was granted a fundamental patent on its agent technology. The title of the patent (No. 5,603,031) is "System and Method for Distributed Computation Based upon the Movement, Execution and Interaction of Processes in a Network." The patent affects areas including, but not limited to agent mobility, agent interaction, agent capabilities and agent applications. More information on the patent can be obtained by contacting the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office at 703-305-8716, or by visiting their Web site at: http://www.uspto.gov .
New Version of Magic Cap
The company also announced that it shipped the new version of its Magic Cap operating system to its partners in both the United States and Japan for integration into a next generation of handheld communications devices. Originally code-named "Rosemary," the new software has been officially named Magic Cap 3.0.
In accordance with U.S. securities law, General Magic notes that this press release contains forward-looking statements. There are risks that may cause actual results to vary materially. These risks include, but are not limited to, reliance on key technical and management personnel, potential schedule changes, difficulties inherent in the development of complex software technologies, dependence on third party developers, competition from other network service providers and market acceptance of network services. Additional risk factors are detailed in General Magic's 1995 10-K and its third quarter 1996 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
About General Magic
General Magic, Inc. was founded in 1990 and develops products and services that allow people to easily communicate with each other and obtain network-based information from wherever they are, using any type of communications device. The company does its magic out of its Sunnyvale, California headquarters. For more information on General Magic and its products, visit the company's Web site at http://www.genmagic.com.
NOTE TO EDITORS: General Magic and Magic Cap are registered trademarks of General Magic, Inc. General Magic acknowledges the rights of the trademark owners for all trademarks referred to herein.
CONTACT:
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Marilyn Kilcrease, 415/356-1031 (Media)
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or
Morgen-Walke Associates
Lisa Laukkanen, 415/439-4507 (Investor)
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http://www.genmagic.com/About/press.html