Source: GeoworksGEOWORKS TECHNOLOGY ENABLES NTT DOCOMO'S NEWEST SMART PHONE
New Handset Offered by Japan's Leading Carrier for Growing PDC Network
ALAMEDA, Calif. (Oct. 19, 1998) - Extending its presence in Japan, one of the world's biggest wireless markets, Geoworks Corporation (NASDAQ: GWRX), a leading provider of smart phone solutions, today announced that its operating system serves as the foundation for NTT DoCoMo's new Dialo smart phone, manufactured by Toshiba. Dialo is the first device with Geoworks' technology to be offered by NTT DoCoMo, Japan's leading service provider.
Dialo is the updated version of the popular GENIO PCV-100 Pocket Communicator, which premiered in Japan in July 1997. The GENIO also utilizes Geoworks' operating system but works instead on the PHS (Personal Handyphone System) network.
Geoworks' technology enables Dialo's functionality as a compact, pocket-size smart phone that integrates voice and data transmission in the PDC (personal digital cellular) network. Designed to facilitate today's wireless communication needs, Dialo works as a standard wireless communication device, but with some notable exceptions. Besides digital phone use, Dialo gives consumers Internet email, Web-browsing, Personal Information Manager and PC link capabilities. Dialo allows input by character recognition with a stylus, a feature supported by an extensive dictionary. An external memory card allows for additional data storage.
The Dialo smart phone enables Geoworks to achieve a greater market presence in Japan. Being on a list of recommended devices by NTT DoCoMo, Japan's foremost wireless service provider, means Geoworks' technology is moving into an arena with more than 20 million subscribers, equating to 56 percent of the total Japanese market.
Japan leads the world in adopting digital cellular technology. More than 84 percent of mobile phone users in Japan are on the PDC network, and the Dataquest research group predicts the number of PDC subscribers will increase from 27 million to 46 million customers by 2000.
About Geoworks
Based in Alameda, Calif., with international operations in the United Kingdom and Japan, Geoworks Corporation is a leading provider of end-to-end software solutions for the wireless communications industry. The Company creates operating system software, applications and actionable services for a variety of wireless devices, ranging from enhanced phones to high-end, all-in-one smart communicators. For additional information on Geoworks, contact the Company on the World Wide Web at http://www.geoworks.com.In keeping with U.S. law, Geoworks notes that this press release includes forward-looking statements, including the emergence of: the smart phone market, the PDC network, and Geoworks' market presence in Japan. Actual results may vary significantly due to various risks and uncertainties. Those include, but are not limited to, the following: i) the smart phone market may not emerge to the degree or in the timing anticipated; and ii) new technologies and new services are inherently subject to development, timing and consumer acceptance risks. Additional information is available in the Risk Factors and Business discussions in the Company's Forms 10-K, 10-Q and other filings available from the Company or from the Securities and Exchange Commission.