Parachute Pc Card Adapter Gives New Life To Old Palms - Parachute Technologies Parachute lll for Palm lll - Product Announcement

EDP Weekly's IT Monitor, August 6, 2001

Parachute Technologies, LLC has introduced the Parachute PC Card adapter designed for Palm handheld organizers. Parachute III lets Palm III owners use PC Cards on their Palm for a variety of applications such as modems, LANs, GPS and wireless communications.

"We are excited to bring the first product to market that truly expands the capabilities and extends the life of the millions of Palm IIIs being used by mobile professionals worldwide," said Scottie Jack, President and CEO of Parachute Technologies, LLC. "For the first time, Palm III users will be able to utilize existing PC Cards for applications such as wireless Internet access, wireless LAN access to company data, browsing web sites and sending e-mail. The applications are as varied as the number of PC Cards out there."

Parachute Technologies recently began accepting on-line orders through the company's web site, http://www.parachutetech.com, with delivery within six to eight weeks. Parachute III lists for $149.00 and is compatible with the entire Palm III series (except the Palm IIIc) including the IBM Workpad PC Companion.

Parachute III, the world's only PC Card adapter for Palm handheld organizers, clips on Palm III series organizers allowing them to accept any Type II PC Card or Compact Flash (CF) Card through the use of a CF Card to PC Card converter. Currently, Parachute III works with a number of PC Card devices such as the Novatel Merlin CDPD modem on the AT&T wireless Network and RIM wireless PC Card for the Mobitex network.

"Parachute products offer a cost-effective alternative to upgrading, which retail customers as well as corporate buyers find very attractive," explained Jack. "We plan to develop Parachute products for all PDAs that use the Palm OS, including Visor, HandEra and HP Jornada. In addition, Parachutes are well underway for Palm V and Palm 505."

The company is working closely with software developers to write drivers for the most popular PC Cards. As drivers are released they will be listed on the Parachute web site. Software developers that purchase a Parachute III can also download the product's Software Developer's Kit (SDK) free within 30 days. The SDK provides the necessary software and instructions for any third party to develop device drivers for PC Cards.