Magellan GPS Companion for Palm m500 Series Named Product of the Year; Magellan GPS Technology Recognized for Product Innovation, Spurring Industry Growth

Business Wire, March 24, 2003

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 24, 2003

Thales (TAL-less) Navigation, a leading global provider of GPS solutions including the Magellan(R) brand consumer product line and Thales Navigation professional GPS products, proudly announces that it has received a prestigious 2002 Planet PDA(R) Product of the Year Award for its Magellan GPS Companion(TM) for Palm(TM) m500 Series Handhelds. Thales Navigation is among an elite few honored by Technology Marketing Corp.'s Planet PDA Magazine and website for outstanding products and services that have furthered the growth of the handheld computing industry.

The Magellan GPS Companion for Palm m500 Series Handhelds features a cordless Magellan GPS attachment, Rand McNally StreetFinder(R) Deluxe Travel Navigation Software and Magellan NAV Companion(TM) software. The GPS Companion was the first product introduced with the ability to calculate and download a route to a Palm handheld and provide audio-prompted, turn-by-turn GPS guidance on a moving map.

"Thales Navigation's Magellan GPS Companion has played an important role in the handheld computing market," said Rick Tehrani, president of Technology Marketing Corp. and Group Editor-in-Chief of Planet PDA, which focuses on handheld productivity solutions for the mobile enterprise. "We're proud to recognize their hard work and innovation with a Product of the Year Award for 2002."

"We are honored to receive the Planet PDA Product of the Year Award because it serves as a great vote of confidence for our continuing efforts to provide innovative navigation solutions that usher GPS technology into more mainstream, everyday applications," said Lonnie Arima, Thales Navigation's vice president of worldwide consumer sales and marketing.

The Magellan GPS Companion for Palm m500 Series Handhelds gives users the ability to save time, avoid getting lost, and travel with the confidence of knowing where they are and exactly how to get where they're going. The cordless Magellan GPS receiver attaches to the back of Palm m500 series handhelds to provide positioning information with WAAS-enabled, three-meter accuracy. The receiver communicates with the Palm handheld through the serial port, leaving the expansion card slot available for downloads.

Users may create custom maps with routing overlays and driving directions, then export the data via HotSync(R) to a handheld. Users can also see their positions and movements on a map, receive in-route audio prompts to signal upcoming turns, and get complete text directions.

For more information on Thales Navigation's Magellan GPS products visit www.magellangps.com.

About Thales Navigation

Thales Navigation is one of the world's leading developers and manufacturers of positioning, navigation and guidance equipment with global operations. Thales Navigation markets its Magellan brand GPS solutions in the consumer electronics, recreation, and automotive markets, and its GPS and GNSS professional products in the survey, GIS/Mapping, and OEM markets. Through its joint venture with Hertz, Thales Navigation has developed the Hertz NeverLost(R) vehicle navigation system. Thales Navigation's key innovations include the first U.S. commercial hand-held GPS receiver for positioning and navigation, and the first handheld GPS with industry standard Secure Digital Memory Card capabilities.

Thales Navigation, headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., with European headquarters in Carquefou, France, is a subsidiary of Thales, a leading professional electronics company headquartered in Paris, France, with activities in aerospace, defense and information technology and services. For more information, visit www.thalesnavigation.com.

Magellan, GPS Companion and NAV Companion are trademarks of Thales Navigation.

HotSync is a registered trademark and Palm is a trademark of Palm, Inc. or its subsidiaries.

StreetFinder Deluxe is a registered trademark of Rand McNally & Co.

Planet PDA is a registered trademark of Technology Marketing Corp.