Qualcomm Extends Lead in Internet E-Mail Market; Study Estimates 10 Million Eudora Users Worldwide; Eudora software enjoys greater usage for Internet e-mail than any competing solution on the market; customer loyalty, brand recognition and superior technology attributed to software's success

Business Wire, Feb 12, 1996

(NASDAQ:QCOM), a leader in wireless communications and advanced electronic messaging solutions for the Internet, today announced the results of an Internet study conducted by Matrix Information Directory Services (MIDS) of Austin, Texas, a leading authority on the Internet and its growth.

The study concluded that Eudora electronic mail software has an estimated 10 million users worldwide and that it is the most popular e-mail software for Internet messaging. The study also concluded that over 60 percent of educational institutions and over 50 percent of organizations on the Internet use Eudora software for communication, a greater number than any other e-mail package.

"The success of both Eudora Pro and Eudora Light software is a direct result of widespread customer input and a mature code base on which to break new ground," said Jeff Jacobs, vice president and general manager, QUALCOMM Enterprise Software Technologies Group. "As a result, we've been able to meet and exceed customer expectations and have enjoyed outstanding customer loyalty."

While the Internet experiences extraordinary growth in many areas, e-mail communication continues to be the number one Internet tool in use today. Leveraging e-mail to create a meaningful and feature-rich communications environment has always been a challenge, given the disparate computing platforms and operating environments of Internet users.

QUALCOMM has resolved these challenges and provided the industry's most popular Internet e-mail package. The award-winning Eudora software family combines cross-platform compatibility, unmatched functionality and ease-of-use, and a groundbreaking Internet distribution strategy that eliminates the barriers to entry for nearly all users.

The results of the MIDS study further illustrate why the Eudora software family is so popular. Based on the survey, 94 percent of Eudora users rate the software's ease-of-use as excellent or good. For Eudora Pro software, QUALCOMM's commercial product, nearly 70 percent of all current users had used the Company's Eudora Light freeware product in the past. This is an excellent indicator of Eudora software customer brand loyalty, as well as the value and superior feature-set of Eudora Pro software.

"We pioneered the approach to use the Internet for distributing commercial-quality software products long before it became fashionable," continued Jacobs. "We have industry-wide brand recognition and outstanding customer loyalty with an estimated 10 million people using our Eudora products today. This extraordinary number of users can be attributed to believing in the value of using the Internet to provide superior technology to the market."

Other statistics released in the MIDS study include:

-- Eudora software is used by 3.2 times more organizations than any other PC mail package for Internet e-mail

User demand for superior products has made Eudora software the industry standard for Internet messaging.

-- Globally, over 60 percent of all institutions of higher education on the Internet use Eudora software

Eudora is the e-mail package of choice for the nation's leading institutions for higher education, including Brown, Cornell, Georgia Tech, Harvard, Notre Dame, The University of Michigan, Stanford, and the University of California system, including UC Berkeley and UCLA.

-- Over 50 percent of all organizations on the Internet worldwide use Eudora

QUALCOMM's key customers include Apple Computer, AT&T, Cisco Systems, DuPont, GTE, Informix, Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, NASA and Schlumberger.

-- Most respondents who purchased Eudora Pro software did so within three months after using Eudora Light software

Eudora Light software customers almost universally appreciate the capabilities and straightforward interface of the product, and are anxious to add the features offered in Eudora Pro software.

-- 80% of people obtained Eudora Light software by downloading it from the Internet

QUALCOMM pioneered the concept of seeding quality software products on the Internet. Eudora's status as the number one product in its category is due, in part, to this forward-thinking strategy.

-- 82% said the cost/price they paid for Eudora Pro software was excellent or good

With a low entry point and aggressive upgrade offers, QUALCOMM has made getting on the Internet with the world's most popular and powerful TCP/IP e-mail package easy and affordable. The Eudora software family has also been on the best sellers' list at Ingram Micro both as a standalone product and in a variety of bundles, surpassing some of the best known names in computer software.

Product Availability

Eudora Pro software is available through nearly all major U.S. retail chains, including Egghead Software, Comp USA, Best Buys, MicroCenter and Fry's Electronics. Eudora Pro software is also available through mail order catalogs, such as Multiple Zones International (MAC Zone and PC Zone) and PC Connection, Inc. (MAC Connection and PC Connection), giving Eudora Pro software excellent market exposure in every key channel.