Acquisitions Advance Position As Leading Global Content Source For The Handheld Industry

It makes me wonder whether the acquisition of Pocketgear.com and Smartphone.net will result in benefiting consumers or create a monopoly in the mobile software industry.? What do you think?

Thanks Matt over at Pocketgear.com for sending me the press release.

Nashville, TN? March 22, 2004? Power By Hand, the leading source for handheld content, information and education, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Pocketgear.com and Smartphone.net, the industry-leading sites for third-party software for the Windows Mobile platform.

These acquisitions will complement Power By Hands content catalog of more than 60,000 applications and digital media titles and its current network of online mobile storefronts including PalmGear.com and PalmDigitalMedia.com. The acquisitions reinforce Power By Hands commitment to the mobile content marketplace, providing Windows Mobile-based Smartphone and Pocket PC users with a dedicated and reliable source for content, information and education.?

Responding to customer demands for mobile solutions, Power By Hand has been dedicated to a cross-platform vision for many years that will enable customers and partners to remain focused on the handheld OS of their choice, and these acquisitions are an important part of that strategy, explained Ryan Wuerch, chairman and chief executive officer of Power By Hand. This will enhance Power By Hands ability to offer a cross platform, enterprise-class customer experience and quality content for our customers and partners. No other mobile content company has the experience and worldwide support capabilities that Power By Hand can now deliver.

With over 6,000 developers and 35,000 applications, Pocketgear.com and Smartphone.net are already the largest sources for third party Windows Mobile applications. Power By Hand will extend their industry leading developer support and distribution capabilities to the Windows Mobile developer communities, and build on the strong sales the sites are already generating.

We are very excited about working with the Power By Hand team. Power By Hand understands the handheld device and Smartphone market, said Nathan L. Miller, chief executive officer of PocketGear. With their global reach, marketing expertise and solid reputation, they can take the distribution of content for Windows Mobile-based devices to the next level.

Todays acquisitions are only part of Power By Hands strategy to become the premier global provider of content and applications to mobile devices. The company today also announced that it will merge with Pinpoint Networks, the leading provider of software and services for managing and delivering mobile content.? Visit www.powerbyhand.com for more information on this announcement.

Power By Hand continues to demonstrate its commitment to expanding the mobile application marketplace and the Windows Mobile community, said Mark Spain, director of the Mobile Devices Division at Microsoft Corp. Mobile2Market partners such as PocketGear.com and Smartphone.net provide developers with a prime distribution channel for their Windows Mobile-based applications, while consumers can more easily discover these great applications to light up their Windows Mobile-based device.

Power By Hand is strategically positioned to aggressively pursue multiple market segments. For consumers, Power By Hands Web properties serve as reliable sources of content, information, and education? through an expansive catalog of mobile content available through multiple distribution channels. For distribution partners, Power By Hand offers strategic technology solutions to power leading mobile content distribution channels for over 100 customers.? For developers and mobile content providers, Power By Hand creates new partnership and distribution opportunities, by providing marketing and e-commerce resources to help them succeed.

About PocketGear
PocketGear, and its partner site Smartphone.net, are the leading commercial Internet sites devoted to third-party software solutions for the Windows Mobile platforms. Providing content distribution services for thousands of registered developers to millions of devoted customers, PocketGear is providing unparalleled distribution resources for the developer community, encouraging the development of new Windows Mobile solutions and further expanding the Pocket PC and Smartphone handheld markets. For more information, visit PocketGear at www.pocketgear.com .

About Power By Hand
Power By Hand is the leading source for handheld content, information, and education.?? Powering sites including PalmGear.com, PocketGear.com & eReader.com, and customers including O2, Verizon Wireless and PalmSource, Power by Hand is the only company able to deliver a unified content, technology and distribution solution to the mobile marketplace.? For more information visit www.powerbyhand.com .

To learn more about Power By Hand and todays announcements, visit www.powerbyhand.com .? This press release is also available online at http://www.powerbyhand.com/press/releases/04_0322_pbh.html

All product and service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.

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Media Contacts:

Shawn Ramsey-Kroboth??????????????????????????????????????????? Dave Bartels

SRK Communications??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Power By Hand

(919) 359-0947 or (919) 621-0737???????????????????????????? (615) 261-4330 x41

shawn@srkcommunications.com ???????????????????????????? dave.bartels@powerbyhand.com

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