VTech Information Gives Helio PDA Source Code to Developers; New $179 Price, Color Choices and Online Developer's Mall At www.vtechinfo.com.CAMPBELL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 22, 1999-- VTech Information, an associated company associated company associate n → Partnerfirma f associated company n → società collegata of VTech Holdings Ltd., a global consumer electronics manufacturer, today announced that it is making the source code to its Helio personal digital assistant (PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) A handheld computer for managing contacts, appointments and tasks. It typically includes a name and address database, calendar, to-do list and note taker, which are the functions in a personal information manager (see PIM). ) available to software developers. The source code is posted at www.vtechinfo in the software developer's mall, along with all of the tools developers need to create applications for the Helio. CompanionLink Software, a leading provider of synchronization software for the PDA market, will administer the developer's program. "We want to encourage developers to create software for the Helio, and the best way to do that is to give them the code," said Calvin Au, VP of marketing at VTech Information. "We will also help developers sell their programs on our Web site -- with them keeping one hundred percent of the revenues. We chose CompanionLink Software to manage our program because of its great reputation in the industry and strong ties to the development community." VTech Information announced the developer's mall in conjunction with a new $179 price and three new color-casing choices: translucent blue, green and clear. Original colors include bright yellow, pearlized pearl·ized adj. Having a pearlescent finish. pink, metallic green with purple tint 1. TINT - Interpreted version of JOVIAL. [Sammet 1969, p. 528]. 2. tint - hue , cool gray and metallic blue. The Helio also now comes standard with eight MB of RAM and 50 minutes of voice recording time. The company is introducing the developer's program, lower price, new colors and feature upgrades to keep the Helio competitive in a very crowded market. "We realize that there are a lot of choices out there, and we don't want anyone to overlook us because of price or a lack of add-on applications," said Au. "We want customers to compare us with our competitors and realize that we're offering much more than they are. For $179, no one else offers eight MB of RAM, a choice of eight color casings, a voice recorder A digital, handheld device that is used to record short reminders. Very lightweight and typically using AAA batteries, such devices use flash memory to hold up to 100 messages and more. Messages can be retrieved sequentially or by direct access by message number. See microcassette. , syncing cradle and compatibility with popular contact management programs like Outlook and Goldmine." At the mall, developers will find the following items available for download: -0-
-- Software Developer's Kit (SDK)
-- GCC Compiler
-- Resource Compiler
-- VT-OS 1.1(TM) Operating System Manual
-- Programmer's Manual
-- API Library
-- Sample application
-- Shareware
VTech Information will also provide free to developers:
-- Technical and marketing e-mail assistance
-- Sales and marketing support by advertising and selling all
applications at www.vtechinfo.com
-- Trade show support for shows at which VTech exhibits
-0- About the Helio PDA The Helio, which runs on VTech's proprietary VT-OS 1.1(TM), includes a high-quality voice recorder, phone book, scheduler, to-do list, memo function (programming) memo function - (Or "memoised function") A function that remembers which arguments it has been called with and the result returned and, if called with the same arguments again, returns the result from its memory rather than recalculating it. , e-mail manager, sketch pad, expense manager, calculator, PC synchronization cradle and CompanionLink's data syncing software, which makes the Helio compatible with Microsoft Outlook For the e-mail and news client bundled with certain versions of Microsoft Windows, see . Microsoft Outlook or Outlook (full name Microsoft Office Outlook , ACT!, GoldMine, Lotus Organizer, Schedule+ and Palm Desktop. The Helio also comes in eight vibrant colors. VTech Information plans to follow the Helio with accessories and additional products for the PDA market. VTech Information designed the Helio to give consumers a high-quality, user-friendly PDA for an exceptional value. By selling the Helio exclusively online, VTech Information eliminates retailer markups and can lower the price for consumers. For more information about VTech Information's software developers program, send an e-mail to developers@vtechinfo.com. For more information on VTech Information or the Helio, please contact Kent Streeb at 650/653-2764 x216, kstreeb@prstrategy.com or visit www.vtechinfo.com. About VTech Information VTech Information is located in Campbell, California Campbell (IPA: /ˈkæmbəl/) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, part of Silicon Valley, in the San Francisco Bay Area. [2] As of 2007 population estimates, Campbell's population is 39,200. and is dedicated to providing consumer electronics that support today's active lifestyles. VTech Information products -- including its debut offering, the Helio -- will be available exclusively over the Internet, meaning valuable savings for consumers. VTech Information will leverage VTech's solid experience, manufacturing skills, and foundation as it develops its products and markets. About VTech Holdings Ltd. VTech Holdings Ltd. is a fully integrated consumer electronics manufacturer that designs, manufactures, markets and sells electronic learning and telecommunication products through its extensive international distribution network. Founded in Hong Kong Hong Kong (hŏng kŏng), Mandarin Xianggang, special administrative region of China, formerly a British crown colony (2005 est. pop. 6,899,000), land area 422 sq mi (1,092 sq km), adjacent to Guangdong prov. in 1976, VTech currently has subsidiaries and offices in 13 countries with more than 20,000 employees and launches an average of 80 to 100 new products each year. About CompanionLink Software CompanionLink Software is a privately held corporation Noun 1. privately held corporation - a corporation owned by a few people; shares have no public market close corporation, closed corporation, private corporation focused on providing valuable solutions to the handheld marketplace. With offices in Brookings, Oregon Brookings is a city in Curry County, Oregon, United States. It was named after John E. Brookings, president of the Brookings Lumber and Box Company, which founded the city in 1908. The population was 5,447 at the 2000 census. , and San Diego, California “San Diego” redirects here. For other uses, see San Diego (disambiguation). San Diego is a coastal Southern California city located in the southwestern corner of the continental United States. As of 2006, the city has a population of 1,256,951. , CompanionLink is a leading provider of data synchronization Keeping data in two or more computers up-to-date so that each repository contains the identical information. Data in handheld devices and laptops often require synchronization with the data in a desktop machine or server. tools for PDAs. CompanionLink Express and Professional provide data synchronization between Microsoft Outlook, ACT!, GoldMine, Lotus Organizer and Schedule+ and popular PDA devices. CompanionLink also runs PDABuzz.com-The Online Resource for News, Reviews, Discussions & Products for the PDA Marketplace. Information about the company and products can be found at http://www.companionlink.com, http://www.pdabuzz.com. |
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