Panasonic and Palm Launch Promotions for SD Memory Cards

Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Panasonic and Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) have launched parallel promotions designed to raise consumer awareness and understanding of the SD Memory Card format. The SD Memory Card, jointly developed by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. ("Panasonic"), SanDisk and Toshiba, enables consumers to place their favorite music, video, digital photos and other data onto a flash memory card that's about the size of a postage stamp, then take those digital files virtually anywhere. SD Memory Cards allow consumers to share content among such digital devices as cameras, printers, computers, cell phones and handheld computers.

As part of its promotion, Panasonic is providing, by mail-in offer, free Panasonic SD Memory Cards with the purchase of select Panasonic products, including digital still cameras, digital camcorders with built-in digital still camera feature, and SD-enabled audio products. Similarly, Palm is offering free Panasonic SD Memory Cards with the purchase of Palm(TM) m125, m500 and m505 SD-enabled handheld computers.

Beginning today, the offers are being promoted in 30-second television spots airing on A&E, Discovery Channel, ESPN and CNN. The commercials demonstrate the interoperability of the SD format, showing a digital image taken with a Panasonic digital camera or camcorder and saved onto an SD Memory Card. The card then can be slipped into an easily configured Palm m125, m500 or m505 handheld and viewed on the handheld's display.

Panasonic and Palm SD-enabled products also will be featured in 30-second spots on the giant NBC Astrovision by Panasonic video display in New York City's Times Square. Outdoor billboards at strategic locations will convey Panasonic's message to millions of commuters.

The two companies also may implement additional, separate advertising and promotional plans beyond the holiday selling season.

Panasonic, a founding member of the SD Card Association, is one of the leaders in incorporating SD technology into consumer electronics products. The current line of Panasonic SD-enabled products includes digital still cameras, digital camcorders with built-in still camera feature, voice recorders and e-wear(TM) MP3 music players, SD/CD car receivers, video projectors and a wireless handheld PC, as well as 16MB, 32MB and 64MB SD Memory Cards.

"Because the SD Memory Card is non-proprietary technology, we expect to see rapid growth of interoperable SD-enabled products coming onto the market, joining products already available from Panasonic, Palm and other companies," said Dr. Paul Liao, Panasonic's chief technology officer.

Palm, a leading provider of handheld computers, has adopted the SD card for use in Palm handhelds equipped with Palm's SD and MultiMediaCard expansion slot, including the Palm m125, m500 and m505 handhelds. Palm chose to support the SD card because of the numerous advantages the format offers.

"The SD card is bringing about a digitally networked world in which a multitude of devices are able to communicate with each other," said Satjiv Chahil, Palm's chief marketing officer. "We chose SD for its unique combination of performance and interoperability -- it provides speed, huge data storage, I/O support, and interoperability in a very small size."

About SD Memory Cards
The SD Memory Card is being supported by an increasing number of manufacturers, entertainment companies and content providers. In less than two years, total membership in the SD Card Association has grown to more than 360 companies, representing a broad range of hardware, software and content- related industries, including music, movies, consumer electronics, personal computers, telecommunications, photographic equipment, and automobiles.

About Panasonic
Panasonic brand SD Memory Cards and SD-enabled consumer and business products are marketed in the United States by Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, the principal North American subsidiary of Japan-based Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., (NYSE: MC), one of the world's largest producers of innovative electronic and electric products for consumer, business and industrial use. Additional information is available at http://www.panasonic.com.

About Palm, Inc.
Palm, Inc. is a pioneer in the field of mobile and wireless Internet solutions and a leading provider of handheld computers, according to IDC (December 2000). Based on the Palm OS(R) platform, Palm's handheld solutions allow people to carry and access their most critical information wherever they go. Palm(TM) handhelds address the needs of individuals, enterprises and educational institutions through thousands of application solutions. The Palm OS platform is also the foundation for products from Palm's licensees and strategic partners, such as Acer, Franklin Covey, HandEra (formerly TRG), Handspring, IBM, Kyocera, Samsung, Sony and Symbol Technologies. Platform licensees also include AlphaSmart, Garmin and Nokia. The Palm Economy is a growing global community of industry-leading licensees, world-class OEM customers, and approximately 175,000 innovative developers and solution providers that have registered to develop solutions based on the Palm OS platform. Palm went public on March 2, 2000. Its stock is traded on the Nasdaq national market under the symbol PALM. More information is available at http://www.palm.com.

More information on the SD Card Association is available at http://www.sdcard.org.

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SOURCE Panasonic