THE AWARD-WINNING TAPWAVE ZODIAC EXPANDING INTO EUROPEAN MARKETS
Tapwave Expanding Operations to Include UK presence
Wednesday 1 September 2004Mountain View, CA /... Since launching the Tapwave® ZodiacTM mobile entertainment console with CompUSA in June, the demand from European markets has been substantial. Already Zodiac is seeing strong interest from distributors, customers (European-based fan sites, such as ZodiacGamer.com, organically and rapidly growing) and the game development community (over 40% of Tapwave's 3000 developers hail from Europe). This demand has led the company to expand into Europe. Starting this holiday selling season, consumers in the UK will be able to experience first hand the brilliant high-resolution (480x320) display, ATI® graphics acceleration, rich stereo sound, and the multimedia computing power of the Zodiac mobile entertainment console.
The Zodiac console was designed from the ground up to work hard and play even harder. Housed in a sleek and ergonomic 6.3 ounce, anodized-aluminum design, the Zodiac console not only provides an unparalleled mobile gaming device with analog control, 3D graphics, stereo sound, vibration effects, and wireless multiplayer gaming, but also everything required for a rich multimedia experience including music, pictures and video. From a work perspective, the Zodiac offers the added benefit of running a Tapwave-enhanced version of the Palm Operating System (5.2T) and provides immediate access to thousands of existing productivity applications, tools and games. With integrated Bluetooth and infrared wireless technologies, the Zodiac is also ideal as a phone companion to browse the internet, send SMS messages and manage email. The console is offered in two models - the Zodiac1 with 32MB RAM and the Zodiac2 with 128MB of RAM. The new retail model for the UK market will also come with the international charging kit and the latest Zodiac 1.1 software suite, which includes many new enhancements like background music playback (e.g., listen to music while you play games, view a photo slideshow or read an e-book) and the ability to sync your personal organizer data with Microsoft® Outlook® using Chapura® PocketMirror®.
To accelerate expansion, Tapwave is now establishing a legal entity and local presence in the UK and recently hired Andrzej Kasprzyk as the company's Director of European Sales and Roy Parker as Director of International Operations. The company has also retained the services of UK-based PR and Marketing group Barrington Harvey (www.bhpr.co.uk), which is located in Hitchin, Herts and will help promote the Zodiac throughout Europe. Tapwave will also start participating in appropriate European events. This week they secured space at EGN (Waterfront Room, Room 17) and ECTS (Exhibit Area, Room 4318). Later in September, Tapwave will be a premiere sponsor of the PalmSource European Developer Conference in Munich.
"Right out of the gate, European interest in the Zodiac has been strong, from consumers and media to distributors and developers," said Byron Connell, co-founder of Tapwave. "The company is now ready to unveil our multimedia console in other markets, starting in the UK and then expanding from there. We are looking forward to starting a relationship with consumers and distributors worldwide."
Beyond being able to purchase the Tapwave Zodiac, consumers will also be able to pick up the latest Zodiac accessories and popular Zodiac game cards, such as id Software's DOOM II®, 3D Realms/MachineWorks Northwest's Duke Nukem MobileTM, Activision's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater® 4 and Midway's SpyHunter®. Along with premiere titles, Tapwave is also offering two game packs - Z:Pak: Adventure, which will include Galactic Realms and Legacy; and the Z:Pak: Fun featuring Paintball, MegaBowling and Kickoo's Breakout. Some of the other Zodiac premiere titles for this year will also include Activision's MTX: MototraxTM and Street HoopsTM, Eidos' Tomb RaiderTM and Atari's Neverwinter NightsTM. Zodiac accessories available at retail will include the Zodiac Sport Case, Zodiac Cradle, a Zodiac Stylus 3-pack and the Zodiac Deluxe Leather Case.
About Tapwave, Inc.
Pioneers of a new product category called mobile entertainment gear, Tapwave is changing the way people manage their lives, play and interact on the go. Founded in May 2001, Tapwave is a privately funded company in Mountain View, CA. Through a wealth of consumer electronic experience and strong partnerships, Tapwave is developing a portfolio of innovative, media-centric products that combine the power and function of advanced handheld computing with the fun of a console-quality entertainment experience.
Since officially launching the company less than a year ago, Tapwave has garnered numerous accolades and industry awards for its first product - the Zodiac, including: 1st place in PC Magazine's "Last Gadget Standing" competition at CES 2004, Handheld Computing's "Most Innovative PDA for 2003", Mobiletrax's Mobility Award, CNET's Editor's Choice Award, PC World's 2004 Next Gear Innovations Award, and Popular Science BOWN (Best of What's New) Award. More information about the company can be found at www.tapwave.com.
® 2004 Copyright. All rights reserved. Tapwave is a registered trademark and the Tapwave logo, Zodiac and the Zodiac logo are trademarks of Tapwave, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.