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U3 Extends Smart Drive Computing Platform to Japan

Posted on: Thursday, 20 April 2006, 09:00 CDT

U3(TM) LLC today continued to expand its global reach with the launch of its U3 smart drive computing platform in Japan. U3 smart drives host U3 smart applications, computer settings and data allowing people to carry their 'personal digital universe' with them and to access it on other PCs for a truly mobile experience. Global brands SanDisk and Toshiba and Japanese market leaders I-O DATA and Elecom have announced they will ship U3 smart drives in Japan. To support users in Japan, U3 also launched the Japanese version of U3 Software Central, U3's online store where consumers can download a variety of U3 smart software applications to their U3 smart drives. U3 Software Central is accessible with a single click from the U3 Launchpad interface on U3 smart drives or from http://software.u3.com/SoftwareCentral.aspx?Lang=ja.

The addition of new hardware partners in Japan gives the U3 platform support from 17 major hardware partners around the world. In Japan, consumers will have a wide range of models and capacities from which to choose:

-- SanDisk will make available its popular Cruzer Micro product line in 512MB, 1GB and 2GB capacities, as well as its Cruzer Titanium in 1GB and 2GB capacities this quarter.

-- I-O DATA Device, Inc. will begin shipping its EasyDisk U3(TM) Smart Drive in 256MB, 512MB and 1GB capacities in June.

-- Elecom Co., Ltd. will ship its new MF-UU2 Series in 512GB and 1GB capacities in mid-June.

-- Toshiba Corporation has announced its support for the U3 platform and plans to begin shipments of U3 smart drives in Japan under the Toshiba brand in the fall of this year.

"U3 is fast becoming a global standard, with U3 smart drives and applications from an ever-growing list of recognized industry leaders," said Kate Purmal, chief executive officer of U3. "Our partners represent both well-known market leaders within the PC peripheral industry in Japan as well as global powerhouse brands. We believe the market in Japan is well-suited to the mobility and convenience of smart drive computing. Now consumers in Japan can enjoy the ability to check e-mail, edit a document, view photos, play a game, listen to music from their playlist or surf the Web from any PC -- all in a safe and trusted environment that's completely mobile and all stored in just one place."

U3 Software Central hosts U3 smart applications from leading developers offering audio and video, business, design and photo, email, games, Internet, security, utilities and Web browser functionalities. Of the nearly 100 applications on the site, 22 have been specially localized for the Japanese market and are available through the U3 Software Central Japanese store, including:

-- Avast! Antivirus U3 Edition: comprehensive protection against viruses and malware infections from a PC

-- ACDSee for U3: fast, easy-to-use portable photo management software for organizing, editing, viewing and sharing your photo memories

-- Carry it Easy: a mobility enhancing application that allows the user to have and access documents, e-mails, bookmarks and the Internet from different computers in just a few clicks

-- CryptoMnemo: data encryption software, the encryption key of which is destroyed when the program finishes and dynamically re-produced from sweet visual memories

-- DmailerSync and ExpressSync U3 Edition: turn any borrowed PC into your own protected workspace

-- Migo Personal Edition for U3 Smart Drives: effortlessly sync email, documents, favorites & settings

-- Mozilla Firefox for U3: take your browser and bookmarks with you for use on any PC

-- Mozilla Thunderbird for U3: gives you a faster, safer, and more productive email experience

-- NTI Shadow: automated, continuous, native format back up of your folders and files to any drive device attached to your PC

-- OpenOffice.org for U3: view and edit office documents in a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager or drawing program with a user interface and feature set similar to other office suites

-- Pamela for Skype: adds a lot of very interesting functions to Skype including answering calls and chats for you when you are away or don't want to be disturbed

-- Pass2Go powered by RoboForm: take your passwords, contacts and personal identity with you and securely login to any Web site

-- SignUpShield Passwords: free, plug & play password manager, saving passwords and related data from sign-up, sign-in, and password change web based forms, automatically filling out those forms when needed

-- Skype: make free calls to your friends all over the world from any Windows 2000 or Windows XP PC

-- Think Free Office, Portable Edition for U3: create, edit and store office documents anytime, anywhere. Maximum Microsoft Office compatibility

U3 Smart Drives

U3 smart drives are easily recognizable by the U3 smart logo and are available from the following leading brands worldwide: BestBuy Geek Squad(R), Clever-Stuff disgo classic and Clever-Stuff busbi, COS Memory AG, Data Storage Advisors disk2go(R), Elecom Co., Ltd., Hama GmbH, Intuix, I-O DATA Device, Inc., Kingston(R) Technology Company, Memorex, PQI, SanDisk(R), TwinMOS, Verbatim(R) and Toshiba Corporation, which will ship in Japan later this year.

U3 smart drives ensure added levels of security through device-level password authentication, a secure encrypted channel between the host PC and the smart drive, and a unique ID associated with each individual drive. More than 4,000 copies of the U3 software developer kit (SDK) have been downloaded in just the last six months, providing a critical mass of support for the U3 platform and resulting in an ever-growing selection of U3 smart software applications.

About U3

U3 LLC of Redwood City, Calif., has developed an innovative platform for the creation of U3 smart drives that host a "digital universe" -- not only data and files, but U3 smart software programs, personal user preferences and the means for managing them. U3 smart drives transform a PC into a truly personalized computer -- quickly, easily and securely, and temporarily. U3, backed by USB flash drive market leaders msystems(TM) (NASDAQ:FLSH) and SanDisk(R) Corp. (NASDAQ:SNDK), licenses its platform to USB drive manufacturers and provides its platform at no cost to software developers. For more information see www.u3.com.

Source: Business Wire

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