Michelin's Commercial Tire Sales Force Assures Best Tire Performance, Strengthens Consulting Services, Lowers Total Costs

MILPITAS, Calif., March 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM), the leading provider of handheld computers, and Michelin, a global leader in the tire industry, today announced that Michelin North Americas, Inc. has purchased more than 500 Palm(TM) Tungsten(TM) T handhelds for its commercial fleet sales force.

Sales consultants from the commercial fleet sales force at Michelin are using Tungsten T handhelds to collect tire data while onsite at customer locations. Information such as tire wear, age and mileage is recorded, analyzed and reported to keep commercial customers abreast of tire performance. The solution also helps keep the Michelin product-development team one step ahead of the competition.

At a time when the topic of tire safety garners international attention, the need for reliable tire-inspection processes is undeniable. By replacing paper-based inspections with handheld solutions, commercial tire dealers, Michelin and fleet service departments are able to receive more dependable feedback on tire performance. The electronic data can be centrally stored and shared within the Michelin extended enterprise. Research and development, sales, and marketing divisions all can utilize the crucial information, maximizing their customers' investments by ensuring premium product quality and promoting fleet operational excellence.

Michelin's solution illustrates Palm's leadership in delivering a handheld platform that provides quantifiable ROI and enables easy access and interaction with important business data for mobile employees.

With the Tungsten T's built-in Palm OS(R) 5, high-resolution screen, one-touch voice memo and Texas Instruments OMAP1510 processor, data collection using Michelin's forms-based Tire Trax application is faster and more efficient than using paper and pen. After data capture, the handheld solution facilitates the data transportation to a data warehouse for analysis and reporting.

Weighing only 5.6 ounces, the Tungsten T is one of the most pocketable solutions available, easily slipping into a shirt pocket while sales representatives maneuver around 18-wheeler trucks to analyze tire conditions. The handheld's durability and portability provides sales representatives with a convenient extension of their PCs, especially in environments where laptops are not an option.

"Michelin's commitment to lower our commercial customers' total costs leads us again to Palm," said John Warren, strategic technologies manager, Michelin Americas Truck Tires. "The Tungsten T handhelds provide our commercial sales force and support teams with another tool to maximize the performance of our products, increase the quality of our consulting services, and increase our value at commercial fleets and servicing dealers."

About Michelin Group

Michelin manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks and the space shuttle. The company also publishes travel guides, maps and atlases covering Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America (http://www.michelin.com) employs 25,900 and operates 22 plants in 18 locations.

About Palm, Inc.

With shipment of more than 20 million Palm handheld computers, many carried in pockets, purses and briefcases around the world, Palm delivers devices that make it easy for people to use and keep track of what matters to them.

Information about Palm, Inc. is available at http://www.palm.com/aboutpalm .

NOTE: Palm OS is a registered trademark and Palm and Tungsten are trademarks of Palm, Inc. Other brands may be trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Palm, Inc.