MESA, ARIZONA (Monday, February 5, 2001) – Upstart MatchBook Products LLC. (www.matchbookdrive.com) stated today that it is ready to meet any challenge posed to it by InnoPocket (www.innopocket.com). MatchBook Products was the first company to announce the production of a commercial adapter to allow the use of Compact Flash memory cards in the Handspring Visor. MatchBook Product’s adapter is called the MatchBookDrive™ Adapter.

“Although other companies have announced the intention to produce a Springboard to CompactFlash adapter, we are the first to take pre-orders and to commit to a shipping date” said Keith Hudson of MatchBook Products. “We are on track to meet our February 15 shipping date for all orders received to date, and welcome the challenge posed by InnoPocket’s recent creation of a website suggesting that they will also be producing a Springboard to CompactFlash adapter.”

“As recently as ten days ago, InnoPocket’s website consisted of a single page with a number of unfinished links. We are excited to see that they have now added pages to some of those links, and have published a price and pictures on their website. The price published on their website confirms the value of the MatchBookDrive™ Adapter.”

The MatchBookDrive™ Adapter sells for $35 plus $2 shipping and handling. Purchasers then download the FAFileMover software used with the adapter from the website of software developer Kopsis, Inc. (www.kopsisengineering.com) for $10, making a total expenditure of $47. Although InnoPocket has not yet published a their shipping and handling fee, if they charge just $4.95 for shipping and handling, the consumer’s total expenditure will be about $45. (InnoPocket bundles the software with their adapter).

“It is apparent that InnoPocket has the resources to purchase the FAFileMover software in large quantities at a significant discount. I feel a little like David going against Goliath,” said Hudson, who started MatchBook Products in December 2000 with a $15 investment. “I take comfort in knowing how that story turned out.”

Hudson points out that the MatchBookDrive™ Adapter has a see-through housing that allows users to see the pins of the adapter while inserting a CompactFlash card, while the InnoPocket adapter is in a solid housing. Some users of similar adapters in solid housings have reported that not being able to see the pins when inserting their CompactFlash card has led to bent pins and a ruined adapter. In addition, based on the pictures on the InnoPocket site, the CompactFlash card protrudes about ¾ of an inch from the InnoPocket adapter, while it only protrudes ¼ of an inch (3.3mm) from the MatchBookDrive™ Adapter.

On January 29, 2001, Kopsis, Inc. began selling its FAFileMover software for $10 through its own website, or for $12 through PalmGear (www.palmgear.com). The FAFileMover software allows Visor owners to store up to 192MB of files on a CompactFlash card using an appropriate adapter, such as the MatchBookDrive™ Adapter. Visor users have greeted the availability of compact flash memory for the Visor enthusiastically and are using their flashadapters to store medical references, dictionaries, e-books and even full-motion video. On February 1, 2001 VisorCentral (old.visorcentral.com) published a review of the MatchBookDrive™ Adapter and the FAFileMover software.

MatchBook Products is not affiliated in any way with InnoPocket, Handspring, PalmGear, the CompactFlash Association, Kopsis, Inc. or VisorCentral and all trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.