Toshiba to Introduce Mobile Office Solution at CeBIT

    TOKYO, March 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Toshiba Corporation today announced the
 Toshiba Mobile Office solution, a complete Wireless Network Internet solution
 for business travelers and Small office/Home office (SoHo) customers.  The
 Toshiba Mobile Office solution will be demonstrated during CeBIT 2001 in
 Hanover, Germany, from March 22-28, 2001 in the main Toshiba booth in Hall 1
 and the Toshiba PC industry display and Toshiba CyberCafe in Hall 13.
     The Toshiba Mobile Office solution is a broadband-backed Wireless Network
 for seamless public access in traveler hotspots, such as airports, cafes,
 hotels, and other high-traffic public areas.  Furthermore, the Toshiba Mobile
 Office is suitable for use in SoHo environments, both as a solution for
 mobility needs and as a basic network technology.  Based on the IEEE's 802.11b
 global wireless 11Mbps standard (Wi-Fi(TM)), it offers travelers and residents
 alike easy access to high-speed wireless networks.  Using the Toshiba Mobile
 Office enables easy deployment of a seamless Wi-Fi network.
     Toshiba is currently offering notebooks with built-in Wi-Fi networking,
 including the Satellite Pro 4600 and Tecra 8200.  For owners of devices
 without built-in Wi-Fi networking, Toshiba offers (in most regions) PC card
 and PCI-based Wi-Fi solutions.  Owners of either of these classes of devices
 are perfectly positioned to take advantage of the Toshiba Mobile Office and
 the freedom that it offers.  The Toshiba Wireless Broadband Gateway enables
 easy deployment of Wi-Fi networks, providing high-speed wireless access to
 Wi-Fi-enabled devices.  In addition, Toshiba offers a Wireless Network Pack,
 bundling a Wireless Broadband Gateway with either Wi-Fi access cards or
 Wi-Fi-enabled notebooks.  This bundle makes it easy for the owner of a SoHo to
 set up a Toshiba Mobile Office network.
     Traditionally, client configuration of a Wi-Fi network has been a
 difficult manual process.  Customers have been forced to make changes to their
 notebook or PDA networking configuration by hand, often resulting in an
 inoperable network connection.  To ease the burden of customer network
 configuration, the Toshiba Mobile Office includes Configuration Free
 technology, which manages all necessary network information automatically.
     Mobility is a key feature of the Toshiba Mobile Office, facilitated by the
 ability of users to move from one portion of a network to another without
 having to power down or even reconfigure their devices.  Furthermore, the
 Toshiba Mobile Office offers roaming between distinct Wi-Fi networks.  Through
 partnerships with a number of other technology and solution providers, Toshiba
 offers a complete solution that delivers seamless connectivity between mobile
 professionals and their enterprise network.  Using more than 1000 hotspot
 public access locations, these business professionals can seamlessly access
 their corporate Intranet across the globe.
     "The future is wireless and mobile," Hisatsugu Nonaka, Vice President of
 Toshiba's Digital Media Network Company, said "and Toshiba is in the vanguard
 of making wireless technology easy to use and useful to customers.  We are
 developing a range of wireless products and services and merging wired and
 wireless broadband technology, all to construct a new mobile environment that
 truly supports our goal of "anybody, anywhere, anytime" network access.
     In developing Toshiba Mobile Office, Toshiba established a strategic
 partnership with hereUare Communications, Inc. of San Jose, CA, USA,
 integrating hereUare's eCoinBox(TM) technology into the Toshiba Wireless
 Broadband Gateway.  The inclusion of eCoinBox allows networks deployed using
 Toshiba's Wireless Broadband Gateway to become part of the hereUare global
 wireless network.
     "Toshiba is a natural partner for hereUare.  They have exceptional
 products that provide tremendous functionality without sacrificing ease of
 use.  Toshiba has a strategy for next generation public networking, and that
 strategy is
 Wi-Fi," says Dr. Butch Anton, Vice President of Advanced Technology, hereUare
 Communications, Inc.
     Toshiba also announced strategic technical relationship with Virata and
 Agere Systems, former Lucent Technology.  Virata supplies Toshiba with ADSL
 technology while Lucent technology supplies Wireless LAN technology.
     "With its new Toshiba Mobile Office Solutions, Toshiba once again leads
 the mobile computing world with the most innovative PC technology available on
 the market, " said Charles Cotton, CEO of Virata.  "We are extremely pleased
 to have Virata's Beryllium processor and software powering the DSL
 capabilities in the new Toshiba Wireless Broadband Router-and we look forward
 to growing our partnership with Toshiba in the future."
     "Agere is excited to be helping Toshiba in providing this complete mobile
 office solution," said Frans Frielink, who manages OEM business development
 for Agere Systems' wireless networking business.  "All of these companies have
 come together to give SoHo customers and business travelers the same rich
 networking experience found in traditional wired office environments."
 
     About Toshiba Corporation
     Toshiba Corporation is a leader in information and communications systems,
 electronic components, consumer products, and power systems.  The company's
 integration of these wide-ranging capabilities assures its position as an
 innovator in advanced components, products, and systems.  Toshiba has 190,000
 employees worldwide, and annual sales of over US$54 billion.  Visit Toshiba's
 website at http://www.toshiba.co.jp
 
     About hereUare Communications, Inc.
     hereUare Communications, Inc. is a provider of enabling technology and the
 leading operator of for-pay public Wi-Fi network access services in the world.
 Based in San Jose, California, hereUare develops and licenses the
 eCoinBox(TM), which provides access control, accounting, and auditing
 functions for their global public for-pay Wi-Fi network.  This technology
 makes it easy for others to deploy for-pay networks.  Backed by well-respected
 venture capital firms ComVentures, Raza Foundries, and Lucent Venture
 Partners, hereUare is changing the way mobile professionals access the
 Internet.
 
 

SOURCE  Toshiba Corporation