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AirPrime Q&A
Thursday September 28, 2000 - 4:57 PM EST - By Marcus Adolfsson

AirPrime, which announced a CDMA based phone for the Visor yesterday, sent us the
following Q&A.

Expect a detailed report from the Global Exchange convention early Friday.

Does this announcement mean Handspring has signed a contract for a specific number of modules?

Not at this time. But Handspring™ is working closely with AirPrime to support our development efforts and ensure that the SB1000 module meets Springboard™ compatibility specifications.

Is this an exclusive agreement with Handspring?

No. AirPrime is free to sell the SB1000 to any of its OEM partners. Moreover, AirPrime will be developing additional product platforms that will wirelessly enable a range of other devices.

When will the SB1000 be available to OEMs?

The SB1000 will be made available to our lead OEM partners in Q4 2000 for evaluation and service testing.

Is AirPrime branding the module?

No. AirPrime is not branding the module. AirPrime works exclusively as a provider of CDMA access solutions to the OEM marketplace. Individual OEMs will sell the SB1000 under their own brand and distribute the product through their own sales channels.

Who are Air Prime’s OEM customers?

AirPrime is working with many of the major OEMs in portable and handheld computing, Internet appliances, industrial telemetry and fixed wireless access as well as wireless carriers to further define its CDMA platforms for future use in multiple form factors. When our partners see a benefit to announcing release of these products, they will make the appropriate announcements to their customers and the press. In the meantime, AirPrime respects the confidentiality of its OEM partners.

Are you working with anyone else to provide these modules? What about partners, such as wireless ISPs or wireless carriers?

Yes. We’re working with wireless carriers and OEMs to create total wireless solutions for a variety of computing devices.

Has the module gone through all necessary certification?

AirPrime cannot answer this question at this time. This is confidential information, and sharing it with the public would compromise our position with our competitors by telling them exactly how close we are to releasing the product.

What will the OEM cost be for this module?

Costs will depend largely on volume, features, and the form factor. Basically, however, this information is still confidential.

What other kinds of products are you focusing on? Other handheld devices? Notebooks?

AirPrime is using CDMA to develop wireless access solutions (hardware and software) for multiple communications devices, including PCs, Internet appliances and handheld computing devices, as well as for pervasive machine-to-machine communications between wireless-data terminals.

This is an IS-95A product, operating at 14.4kbps. When are you introducing a higher-speed product?

The network rollout for 1xRTT is scheduled next year.&

Do you have a manufacturer to produce the SB1000 in volume? Who is it?

Yes. AirPrime announced its partnership with Flextronics one week ago in a release to the media.

How long will it be before OEMs can offer this module?

This is the decision of the OEM provider. Our job is to meet the roadmap time requirements of our OEMs.

Will you be the first company to bring a CDMA wireless module to market?

AirPrime will be the first company to bring a CDMA wireless module to market for the Handspring™ Visor™.

Does this platform allow for the integration of other functionality, such as Bluetooth?

No. The current design does not allow for the integration of Bluetooth. Moving forward, we have a roadmap to add additional functionality and further optimize all of our platforms.

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