Socket Intros Software Developers Kit for Wireless Data Paging

SOCKET INTRODUCES SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS KIT FOR WIRELESS DATA PAGING

PageCard SDK Supports Open Standards for Wireless Messaging

Fremont, CA, August 9, 1995 -- It just got easier to send corporate data to
mobile computer users, thanks to the release of the PageCard Software
Developers Kit (SDK) by Socket Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ SmallCap SCKT
and SCKTW). The PageCard SDK incorporates open standards to offer a fast
way for programmers to give commercial or custom software the ability to
send and receive messages and data across wireless paging networks. The
SDK provides Windows libraries for sending long text messages via modem to
alphanumeric pagers. The kit also includes software that uses open
standards for sending binary, compressed and encrypted files to PCMCIA
pager cards, and for transferring data from Socket's PageCard to programs
on mobile computers running Windows 3.x or Windows 95.

The PageCard SDK utilizes several open standards for linking corporate
computer networks to paging networks. Support for the Telocator
Alphanumeric Paging Protocol (TAPP) lets software programs send messages
via modem to any major paging network. Support for Novell NASI or Telebit
ACS protocols allows users to share modems across local area networks. The
Page Descriptor Footer (PDF) overcomes message length and data type
limitations of paging networks. The Mail Message Format (MMF) preserves
the structure of paged e-mail and provides one for other wireless
messages.

Today's nationwide alphanumeric paging networks operate on 7-bit data, have
a limited character set, randomly mix the chronological sequence of
messages, and support various maximum packet sizes. Since paging is a
one-way broadcast medium, there is a need for easy and reliable message
reconciliation. All of these challenges have to be handled in a consistent
way in order to achieve interoperability among application software,
computer platforms and carrier networks. According to Murray Dennis,
Socket's President and Chief Executive Officer, "The PageCard SDK is the
first product that addresses all these issues while at the same time
offering open standards for developers who prefer to solve these problems
from scratch."

A pivotal open standard proposed by Socket and adopted by several industry
leaders is the PDF protocol. The PDF makes it possible for software
applications to automate the process of segmenting long messages into
smaller packets and reassembling them once they are received on a remote
computer. PDF libraries included with the SDK also support binary,
compressed and encrypted messages, and provide a structure for automating
message reconciliation. The PDF has already been adopted by Apple Computer
for the Apple Mobile Message System, the National Dispatch Center for
handling an array of services including operator dispatch and an
Internet-to-pager gateway, carrier service providers such as Bell
Mobility, and publishers of messaging software such as Evtek, Ex Machina
and TekNow.

A key benefit of PDF is that it standardizes a protocol for sending data
through the paging network and delivering it intact, via a PCMCIA pager
card, to a mobile computer. According to Dennis, "You can use Socket's SDK
to write software that sends messages to a conventional alphanumeric
pager, but why stop there? Why not deliver it to the mobile professional's
computer so that the wireless message becomes a transparent part of the
process of computerized contact management?"

Using PDF and Socket's SDK, companies can transmit hot leads to a
salesperson's pager and put those leads directly into a software
application running on the salesperson's notebook or PDA. With the ability
to broadcast messages such as price updates to hundreds of people at once,
the cost and productivity benefits of using the paging networks for field
force automation become almost boundless.

The PageCard SDK includes API functions, runtime Dynamic Link Libraries
(DLLs) and C/C++ and Visual Basic header files for developing and testing
"page-enabled" applications. under Windows 3.x or Windows 95. A TAPP
simulator with customizable carrier profiles allows developers to simulate
any wireless pager network in order to speed development time without
incurring service costs. The SDK also includes sample C++ and Visual Basic
programs to illustrate the use of the SDK. The PageCard SDK costs $495 and
is available immediately. For more details, contact Jim Thylin at
510-744-2770. Socket's part # is 8200-00014. Additional information can be
found at Socket's web site at http://www.socketcom.com.

Socket Communications designs, develops and sells data communications
solutions for the mobile computer market. All of the Company's hardware
products incorporate the PCMCIA interface standard. Socket currently
offers its PageCard Wireless Messaging System, a wireless data
communications solution consisting of the PageCard receiver, PageSoft
communications software and Socket Wireless Messaging Services.

In addition, the Company offers a Wireless Global Positioning System PCMCIA
card, a family of Ethernet and serial PCMCIA cards, and messaging
software.
 
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