SAN FRANCISCO, June 14 /PRNewswire/ -- In a move to bring baseball fans even closer to the action, the San Francisco Giants and Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM - news) today unveiled three ``beaming stations'' at Pacific Bell Park. Handheld users can now keep score and track the game more closely than ever before when they visit a beaming station and ``beam'' a scoring application and the latest Giants and visiting team statistics and roster to their Palm Powered(TM) handheld computers.
``In developing Pacific Bell Park, our goal has always been to use innovative technologies that enhance the overall ballpark and game experience,'' said Giants Senior Vice President of Corporate Marketing Mario Alioto. ``The Palm beaming stations will provide an outstanding added feature to our fans, and we hope it will encourage more fans to master the art of scorekeeping.''
Anyone with a Palm Powered handheld can walk up to any of the three stations, hold up their handheld and receive a ``beam'' of a scorekeeping application and other information like statistics, rosters, lineups, pitching match-ups and biographies for easy reference during the game. The beaming stations work with any Palm OSŪ based device, including those from Palm, Handspring, Sony, IBM, Kyocera and Symbol.
``The kiosks illustrate the true depth, elegance and flexibility of the Palm OS as a platform,'' said Satjiv Chahil, chief marketing officer for Palm, Inc. ``The very same products that are being used at large companies to access mission-critical information are keeping scores and delivering player bios at Pacific Bell Park. With thousands of easy-to-use solutions, Palm(TM) handhelds continue to enhance people's professional and personal lives in new and innovative ways.''
The beaming stations, developed by WideRay Corporation of San Francisco, contain three small servers that deliver broadband, custom information to handheld devices via high-speed infrared beams of information. Fans simply point their handheld device, and in seconds they receive a high-speed infrared beam with WideRay's browser software and free, timely information tied to the Giants.
The content beamed to the handhelds includes TurboStats ScoreKeeper and information provided by the Giants Today section of the San Francisco Chronicle. Beaming stations will be updated before each home series, enabling fans to receive the latest statistical information on the team. In the near future, a collector series of electronic player cards also will be available. (Please note that the ScoreKeeper program the fans receive is not the full edition you get when you purchase the software)
``The Giants and Pacific Bell Park provide a perfect venue for WideRay's technology,'' said Saul Kato, WideRay's chief executive officer. ``At the ballpark, we're providing fans with a completely new way to interact with truly valuable information and interactive content. WideRay's focus is on working with great partners like Palm and the San Francisco Giants. We provide users with information they want and need, when and where they want it.''
Beaming stations were installed in three locations around the ballpark, including on the AAA Club Level near section 219, on the Promenade Level near the 2nd and King pedestrian ramp, and in the Field Club Lounge. In addition, a scoreboard video will run during select Giants homegames to help educate fans about how to use the beaming stations and how to keep score.
About the San Francisco Giants
Major league baseball came to San Francisco back in 1958 with the arrival of the Giants from New York. Showcasing such legendary names as John McGraw, Willie Mays and Willie McCovey throughout their rich history, the Giants boast the winningest record ever among National League teams -- second only to the New York Yankees in all of baseball. The New York-San Francisco franchise has produced more members of the Baseball Hall of Fame than any other team in the Major Leagues. A new era of Giants baseball began in 1992, when a group of civic-minded San Franciscans headed by Peter A. Magowan purchased the 118-year-old Major League franchise. Since then, the San Francisco Giants have been committed to standing for innovation, professionalism, and excellence on and off the field. The Giants are dedicated to serving their customers, providing a high quality entertainment experience, and enhancing the Giants value as a community asset. Pacific Bell Park is a shining testimonial of the Giants commitment to give their fans the best team and the best ballpark in the 21st Century.
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 OSŪ platform, Palm's handheld solutions allow people to carry and access their most critical information with them 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 Franklin Covey, HandEra (formerly TRG), Handspring, IBM, Kyocera, Sony, and Symbol Technologies. Platform licensees also include Nokia and Samsung. The Palm Economy is a growing global community of industry-leading licensees, world-class OEM customers, and more than 155,000 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 www.palm.com.
NOTE: Palm OS is a registered trademark and Palm and Palm Powered are trademarks of Palm, Inc. or its subsidiaries.
SOURCE: Palm, Inc.
another Story
Palm
Heads to the Big Leagues
Posted by: PR on Saturday,
June 16, 2001 1:43:42 PM
The San Francisco Giants and
Palm, Inc. have installed three beaming stations at Pacific Bell Park. Handheld
users can now keep score and track the game more closely than ever before when
they visit a beaming station and get a scoring application and the latest Giants
and visiting team statistics and roster for their Palm Powered handhelds.
Users will receive a
scorekeeping application and other information like statistics, rosters,
lineups, pitching match-ups and biographies for easy reference during the game.
The beaming stations work with any Palm OS based device, including those from
Palm, Handspring, Sony, IBM, Kyocera and Symbol.
The beaming stations,
developed by WideRay Corporation of San Francisco, contain three small servers
that deliver broadband, custom information. This includes TurboStats ScoreKeeper
and information provided by the Giants Today section of the San Francisco
Chronicle. Beaming stations will be updated before each home series, enabling
fans to receive the latest statistical information on the team. In the near
future, a collector series of electronic player cards also will be available.
Beaming stations were installed in three locations around the ballpark, including on the AAA Club Level near section 219, on the Promenade Level near the 2nd and King pedestrian ramp, and in the Field Club Lounge. In addition, a scoreboard video will run during select Giants homegames to help educate fans about how to use the beaming stations and how to keep score.
also see story at wirelessnewsfactor