SCOTTSDALE, Ariz--Feb 17, 2004--Feb. 16, 2004 – Stata Laboratories, Inc., a developer of software products that use intelligent search to help people effortlessly organize, manage and retrieve digital information and content, today unveiled a comprehensive preview of Bloomba® 2.0 at IDG’s DEMO 2004 conference in Scottsdale, Ariz. This is a highly anticipated, major upgrade to the company’s search-based email product.
Bloomba 2.0, scheduled to ship in Q2 2004, will include several exciting new features, including breakthrough Calendar functionality, an improved Contacts tool for organizing address book information, and an innovative new feature called Related Info that uses machine learning techniques to anticipate customer needs and present information related to Bloomba searches, such as relevant contacts and upcoming meetings. Additionally, Bloomba 2.0 will offer synch-to-Palm® functionality along with all of the intelligent features that Bloomba 1.0 users have come to expect, including powerful email and attachment search capabilities, critically acclaimed spam fighting tools and easy RSS feed integration and management.
“The power of search-based email has caught on with a broad segment of email users, and once again, the overwhelming benefit of Bloomba is the instantaneous recall of important information,” said Ronald Brown, chief executive officer, Stata Labs, Inc. “Bloomba 2.0 represents continuity in our focus on innovation and usability, and it will include several new features that further distinguish Bloomba from every other email client on the market.”
Bloomba 2.0 Features
Built using the patent-pending Stata Labs PCDB™ technology, Bloomba 2.0 is engineered with several intelligent features that alleviate the growing burden of mailbox overload while maximizing the inherent productivity advantages of the world’s fastest growing communication and collaboration tool—email. Unique features in Stata Labs’ Bloomba 2.0 product include:
· Bloomba Calendar. Customers will enjoy the benefits of a fully integrated calendar and scheduling tool in Bloomba 2.0. Key features and benefits of the Bloomba Calendar include:
o Calendar Search allows customers to use keyword searches to find important appointment and contact info, as well as related emails and attachments.
o Calendar Week Picker provides customers with a simple at-a-glance view of their weekly meetings.
o Calendar Peek lets customers always see a monthly calendar view without toggling to a separate window or screen.
o Multiple Calendars allows customers to download and configure calendars of friends, family and co-workers, as well as affinity calendars for personal interests, such as sporting events, television listings and concerts.
o Calendar Synch-to-Web lets customers synchronize their appointments with a WebDav server and share calendar information with others.
o Calendar Auto-complete uses machine-learning techniques to correctly anticipate common invitees for meetings and appointments that customers frequently schedule in their calendars.
· Related Info. Bloomba customers will no longer have to toggle to separate windows to find related information like contact information, appointments or recent emails. Instead, the Related Info feature anticipates the customer’s need for this information and delivers it automatically.
· Synch-to-Palm. Bloomba 2.0 will support synchronizing email, calendar and contact information to hand-held devices based on the Palm operating system.
· Bloomba Shortcuts. Bloomba’s search capabilities will be expanded through Bloomba Shortcuts that initiate commonly used Web searches at popular online destinations.
· Click-to-Search. With one quick click of the search icon in a message preview pane, customers can access all of the information related to a person or a subject.
· Quick Links. Customers can quickly discover upcoming meetings or appointments from within the Bloomba Contacts feature, or they can look up the contact information for any participant from within Bloomba Calendar. These linking features eliminate the need to toggle between windows or change viewing perspectives—a common inefficiency and frustration point for users of other email products.
“Last year, Stata Labs captured our attention with a perspective-altering search feature that distinguishes Bloomba from all other email products,” said Chris Shipley, executive producer, DEMO 2004. “This year, Stata Labs has come back to show us the next step in creating the best email product—Bloomba 2.0 is a product that will change your outlook on email.”
Better Email Search Urgently Needed
The introduction of Bloomba 2.0 underscores a growing demand from customers for a product that addresses some of the fundamental inefficiencies of email. In December 2003, San Francisco-based Ferris Research published a research report titled, “The Time Overhead of Email,” which quantified the time and productivity costs associated with typical email tasks. The report’s conclusions illustrate in detail how search-based email products, such as Bloomba, can save people and businesses time and money. The report can be viewed in its entirety at www.ferris.com or alternately at www.statalabs.com.
Pricing & Availability
Bloomba 2.0 will ship in Q2 2004 at an introductory price of $89.95. It includes SAproxy™Pro 2.5, an update to Stata Labs’ critically acclaimed SpamAssassin™-based spam filter, free-of-charge. Bloomba 1.0 customers will be able to upgrade to Bloomba 2.0 at no additional charge after the product has shipped. For more information please visit www.statalabs.com.
About DEMO
The annual DEMO conferences focus on emerging technologies and new products, which are hand-selected by executive producer Chris Shipley from across the spectrum of the personal technology marketplace. Top executives from the leading hardware and software technology companies, venture capitalists, journalists from key industry publications and industry analysts attend the DEMO conferences to preview the most promising products and technologies for the coming year. DEMO is held in February each year and features approximately 60 new companies, products and technologies. For more information, visit http://www.demo.com/.
About Stata Labs
Stata Labs, Inc. develops software products that use intelligent search to help people effortlessly organize, manage and retrieve digital information and content. Its flagship product, Bloomba, is a search-based email program that addresses the key problems of email usage. Stata Labs also sells SAproxy Pro, a critically acclaimed spam filter that works with all POP3 email programs and is optimized specifically for Bloomba. Over time, Stata Labs will develop, license and market a family of products that organize, manage and retrieve personal digital information using the patent-pending Stata Labs PCDB™ technology. Stata Labs is a privately held company located in San Mateo, Calif.
Bloomba, SAproxy, Stata Labs, and Stata Labs PCDB are all trademarks of Stata Laboratories, Inc. Synch-to-Palm is a registered trademark of palmOne. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
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Contact:
Mike Manuel
Voce Communications
(650) 322-6966
mmanuel@vocecomm.com
Stata Labs, Inc., is a software company developing innovative personal computing products that significantly improve personal productivity and interpersonal communications. Stata Labs' Bloomba is creating an entirely new email experience, based on a fresh, user-centric approach to email. Stata Labs' SAproxy Pro uses a rules-based approach that leverages the vast Open Source community to eradicate spam. Over time, Stata Labs will develop, license and market a family of products that organize, manage, and retrieve digital information and content using the patented Stata Labs PCDB™ technology. Stata Labs is a privately held company located in San Mateo, Calif.
Web site: http://www.statalabs.com.
Stata Laboratories, Inc.
Aaron Burcell
Title: Director
Phone: +1 (650) 3570012 ext. 103
Fax: +1 (650) 3570342
Email: aburcell@statalabs.com