[11/09/2004] Pacific Union Real Estate Employs Treo 600 Smartphones from palmOne to Improve Agent Efficiency and Customer Service

MILPITAS, Calif., Nov. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- palmOne, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLMO) today announced that Pacific Union Real Estate, one of the best-known, high-end real estate firms in California, has initially deployed more than 70 Treo(TM) 600 smartphones from palmOne to its agents and has plans to roll out Treo devices to an additional 50-plus agents set to come on board later this year.

The devices are used within the greater San Francisco Bay Area for remote access to real estate and client data. This move to Treo 600 smartphones can have a tremendous impact on the number of deals Pacific Union agents will be able to close, as well as improve their clients' level of satisfaction.

"Yesterday, as I toured at least 35 properties and had up to a dozen potential clients looking for properties, not only was I able to keep in touch via direct email(1) but I had my entire contact and listing database with me on my Treo 600," said Bradford Whitaker, a broker for Pacific Union. "In addition to the contact information, each client has an entire profile entered into my Outlook, which is synchronized to my Treo 600. I no longer find myself making special trips back to the office to respond to email or voicemail. Using the Treo 600 smartphone allows me to service more clients at a higher quality level and a faster pace than ever before."

For 30 years, Pacific Union has been one of the most successful real estate firms in the San Francisco Bay Area. Pacific Union has 580 sales associates and since 2000 have helped 47,000 clients buy or sell their homes. In order to provide excellent customer service, the company's real estate professionals need immediate access to information and applications, including email. This presents a challenge since real estate work constantly requires sales associates to be out of the office. Pacific Union considered many options including Pocket PC-based and BlackBerry mobile solutions, but found they lacked adequate connectivity and synchronization for its needs.

The Treo 600 smartphone serves as a mobile office platform for Pacific Union's agents. For each agent, the Treo 600 acts as a gateway to vital back- office information and a connection point to clients and associates that was previously only available to them when they were in the office. Now that wireless connectivity is widespread, Pacific Union's agents can take full advantage of all that the Treo 600 smartphone has to offer, including phone; email; Internet; and access to the many applications realtors already use, such as mortgage calculators and MLS listings, while away from the office.(2)

Other tools available on the Treo line of smartphones for realtors include maps and driving directions, which are key to finding new properties quickly and easily. Agents also can collect listing information and enter it into the Treo 600 in a fast and intuitive way, which is then synchronized to the central real estate database. For instance, realtors in the field can use applications to show clients monthly payment calculations for different interest rates, price, and down payment scenarios. In addition, the integrated camera on the Treo 600 is useful for attaching a client's photo to his or her contact information as well as for taking quick snapshots of the property a client might be interested in.

"Agents using the Treo 600 have a true competitive advantage, increasing their productivity and providing superior customer service. They gain hours in their day, avoiding unnecessary trips to the office to view MLS listings or access client records. They eliminate calculators, cameras, cumbersome area maps and other paper-based tools," said Gail Moody-Byrd, director of business marketing for palmOne. "Our research tells us roughly 40 percent of real estate agents use a handheld; palmOne is committed to working with leaders in the real estate industry such as Pacific Union to spread adoption of mobile solutions more broadly, raising the level of service available to home buyers and sellers."

More information about palmOne in real estate is available at http://palmone.com/us/solutions/ .

About Pacific Union Real Estate

Pacific Union GMAC Real Estate is one the San Francisco Bay Area's largest residential real estate firms. Its total sales increased from $2.9 billion in 2001 to $4 billion in 2003.

About palmOne, Inc.

palmOne, Inc. -- the leader in handheld computing and communications solutions -- strives to put the power of computing in people's hands so they can access and share their most important information. The company's products include Zire(TM) and Tungsten(TM) handhelds and Treo(TM) smartphones, software and accessories.

palmOne products are sold at The palmOne Store (http://store.palmOne.com/) and palmOne Retail Stores, and through select Internet, retail, reseller and wireless operator partners throughout the world.

More information about palmOne, Inc. is available at http://www.palmOne.com .

     (1)  An Internet service provider account, data service and carrier
          subscription may be required for Internet and email access. These
          services may need to be purchased separately.
     (2)  Access available within network coverage areas only. Availability
          and coverage depends upon carrier and the geographic scope of
          international roaming agreements.

NOTE: palmOne, Tungsten, Zire and Treo are among the trademarks or registered trademarks owned by or licensed to palmOne, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All other brand and product names are or may be trademarks of, and are used to identify products or services of, their respective owners.

SOURCE palmOne, Inc.