HP Delivers First Wireless Printing and Biometric Security Solutions for Microsoft .NET Compact Framework

Business Wire, March 19, 2003

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

Microsoft Mobility Developers Conference

NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 19, 2003

HP Works to Expand Mobile Printing Capabilities and

Enhance Document Security for Handhelds

HP (NYSE:HPQ) today delivered two new software development kits with Microsoft(R) Visual Studio .NET 2003 and .NET Compact Framework support that are available for evaluation by developers wanting to enable or create mobile applications and offer enhanced security for devices.

A first for the wireless printing industry, the HP Mobile Printing Software Development Kit (SDK) with Microsoft Visual Studio .NET support is available for evaluation and enables developers to add direct and service-based printing capabilities to Microsoft .NET Compact Framework-based applications. HP also is the first company to deliver biometrics security in support of Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 with the HP Biometric Security Toolkit.

The HP Mobile Printing SDK is designed to simplify the development process and includes several tools for deploying high-quality applications quickly and easily through reusable components and wizard guides.

"HP is leading the industry to make wireless printing ubiquitous. The combination of HP and Microsoft technologies offers developers the opportunity to build real applications for deployment in today's market place," said Lynn Hoffmann, vice president, alliance solutions and applications division, HP Imaging and Printing Group. "HP and Microsoft share a common vision of optimizing the user experience for mobile and wireless applications and giving customers ready access to all their critical information."

With the HP Mobile Printing SDK, developers can create applications enabling users to print from HP Pocket PC devices using various Bluetooth(TM) wireless technology, infrared and 802.11 technologies. The SDK, which is available in a beta form on a limited basis, enables printing to a wide range of content including Microsoft PowerPoint, Word and Adobe(R) Acrobat.

"Microsoft is pleased to see HP working toward providing .NET Compact Framework developers the ability to print documents directly from their device applications," said Tom Button, vice president, developer and platform evangelism division, Microsoft Corp. "It's one more example of how Microsoft and its partners are bringing the full power of existing investments to the mobile developer. "

With integrated support for the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework, Visual Studio .NET 2003 brings this familiar, rapid development experience to mobile devices. Now developers can evaluate the use of the HP Mobile Printing SDK with the same programming model used to build applications that span from small devices to the largest data center.

The delivery of the beta SDK builds upon HP's participation in the Microsoft Visual Studio .NET Integration Program announced last December and is an example of how the two companies are providing more tools for developers to build deployable applications.

Industry Support for HP Mobile Printing Solutions

Countermind, LLC is a privately held software company based in Englewood, Colo., that delivers enterprise-grade mobile and wireless solutions through its Mobile Intelligence Platform(TM) (MIP(TM)) family of products. Countermind is evaluating the HP Mobile Printing SDK with Microsoft Visual Studio .NET support to provide future mobile printing capabilities for its MIP family of products.

By integrating HP mobile printing into its MIP products, Countermind plans to enable its customers to add a new range of features such as on-site customer acceptance and invoice generation to their mobile solutions, thereby reducing the billing cycles, increasing customer satisfaction and improving return on investment.

"Countermind is an enthusiastic user of the HP Mobile Printing SDK with Visual Studio .NET support because of its ease of use, straightforward functionality and robust capabilities," said Randy Starr, director of technology, Countermind. "We foresee the combination of the HP Mobile Printing SDK with MIP to enable Countermind to provide integrated mobile printing capabilities that enhance our products' ability to deliver ROI to our customers."

Enhanced Security

The HP Biometric Security Toolkit with Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 support enables developers to create Microsoft .NET Compact Framework-based applications with enhanced security for handheld devices. Developers can now create applications within the .NET Compact Framework that take advantage of the biometric authentication capabilities of the HP iPAQ Pocket PC h5450.

As of March 3, 2003, the h5450 was the first Pocket PC on the market to include integrated wireless LAN, Bluetooth wireless technology and biometric security. The HP Biometric Security Toolkit reduces the complexity and enables developers to effortlessly integrate biometric authentication into mobile and wireless applications.

A thermal biometric fingerprint reader on the h5450 provides additional security from unauthorized access to the critical data stored on the device. By combining the HP Biometric Security Toolkit with the HP Mobile Printing SDK, developers have a powerful set of tools to facilitate the creation of enterprise-class mobile applications.