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Press Release
Palm OS Applications Lead U.S. Handheld Software Sales Overall Handheld Software Industry Grows 300 Percent
SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- According to
NPDTechworld, Palm OS(R) based applications accounted for more than 97 percent
of handheld software titles sold in the United States last year,(1) affirming
PalmSource, Inc., the Palm OS subsidiary of Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM), as the
leader in handheld computing platforms. Overall sales of handheld software in U.S. retail channels(2) tripled to
900,000 titles sold in 2001, up from 225,000 titles sold in 2000, pointing to
the expansion of handheld usage beyond personal information management. In
addition to business and other productivity functions, games and document
readers were among the most popular applications for handheld devices. The large variety of software applications for Palm Powered(TM) handhelds
lets customers tailor devices to suit their individual needs. For example,
there are gardening programs for amateur horticulturists, wine programs for
would-be sommeliers, and food programs for aspiring chiefs. Because developers
continue to register for the platform, the breadth of applications will
continue to grow. The flexibility of the Palm OS platform allows users to customize based on
their individual needs, thereby adding value to their devices. Out of more
than 13,000 applications currently available for Palm OS, three of the hottest
categories are enterprise, business, and personal productivity and
entertainment.
<![CDATA[ -- Enterprise Applications
Palm OS supports a wide spectrum of enterprise-level applications in
fields ranging from industrial manufacturing to the airline industry to
healthcare. One company, PatientKeeper, helps more than 45,000 doctors
and nurses track patients and chart their vital statistics.
"Since we began using Palm Powered handhelds with PatientKeeper
software, we spend less time each day on paperwork and have more time
to spend with patients," said John Halprin, M.D., chief of Neurology at
North Shore -- Long Island Jewish Health System. "PatientKeeper is so
much faster, easier and more accurate than our old paper-based systems
that the management of patient information is now much less
burdensome."
PatientKeeper products are available at www.patientkeeper.com.
-- Entertainment
Games represent the greatest percentage of software titles sold,
accounting for 38.7 percent of sales, the NPDTechworld report says. One
of the hottest game titles is Bejeweled by Astraware. Bejeweled is a
colorful puzzle game that is easy to play and highly
addictive.
Bejeweled can be downloaded at www.astraware.com.
-- Business and Personal ProductivityBusiness and personal productivity
applications range from document readers to street maps and vacation
planners. Two of the best-selling programs are DataViz Documents To Go,
and WordSmith by Blue Nomad, which allow users to view and edit Word
and Excel documents on their devices.
Applications easily cross the line between personal and business uses.
For example, more than 1,700 teachers and students at Consolidated High
School District 230 of Orland Park, Ill. use Quickoffice from Cutting
Edge Software, one of the most popular "office" suites for Palm Powered
handhelds. Students use Quickoffice, which includes a fully functional
spreadsheet, word processor and charting tool, for collecting and
analyzing data, as well as for writing their assignments directly on
their handhelds.
"Quickoffice has expanded our learning environment beyond the walls of
the classroom," said Darrell Walery, District 230's director of
technology. "Teachers design learning activities that they never could
have assigned before their students got access to Quickoffice on their
Palm Powered handhelds."
Quickoffice can be downloaded at www.quickoffice.com.
]]> Palm OS based applications are available at www.palmgear.com,
www.handango.com, or www.downloads.com.
About PalmSource, Inc. Information about PalmSource, Inc., the Palm OS(R) subsidiary of Palm,
Inc., is available at www.palmsource.com.
(1) NPDTechWorld March 2002.
(2) This includes sales of Palm OS and non-Palm OS based applications
through brick and mortar retail, third-party direct and Internet retailers. It
is all packaged and branded software. It does not include direct sales.
NOTE: Palm OS is a registered trademark and Palm and Palm Powered are
trademarks of Palm, Inc. Other brands may be trademarks of their respective
owners.
SOURCE PalmSource, Inc.
Web site: http: //www.palmsource.com
CONTACT: Alexa Ender of A&R Partners, +1-650-762-2819, or aender@arpartners.com, for PalmSource, Inc.
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