March 10, 1997 1:45 PM ET
USR, Lotus to develop extensions for PalmPilot
By Margaret Kane

U.S. Robotics Inc. today gave its PalmPilot a further push into the corporate arena thanks to a deal with Lotus Development Corp. that integrates the handheld organizer with Lotus messaging and groupware functions. The company also introduced two new PalmPilots. (See our review of PalmPilot Professional.) USR and Lotus will develop software that lets the PalmPilot link with Lotus Notes, cc:Mail and Organizer 97 products so users can access E-mail and scheduling functions. The move could help USR broaden Pilot's appeal in the corporate market by enhancing its communication functions and making it an extension of existing corporate software. USR's new HotSync TCP/IP-based network synchronization capability allows users to link the Pilot to their mail software over a dial-up line or through a WAN. USR will integrate E-mail software into the new PalmPilot Professional edition for cc:Mail. Notes mail support will be available in three to four months, company officials said. Support for Lotus Organizer 97 is slated for later this spring. The new PalmPilot models include expense management software, backlit screens and enhanced Personal Information Management software. The PalmPilot Professional, which will be available at the end of the month at a street price of $399, includes 1MB of memory. The $299 Personal edition, with 512 K of memory, is available now. USR is based in Mountain View, Calif. Lotus is located in Cambridge, Mass. Copyright(c) 1997 Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company is prohibited. PC Week and the PC Week logo are trademarks of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. PC Week Online and the PC Week Online logo are trademarks of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. Send mail to PC Week