Handspring Reports Quarterly Results

Handspring today reported results for their first quarter of fiscal 2004 ended September 27, which included the first initial shipments of its new Treo 600 smartphone.

Revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2004 was $13.1 million, down from $14.5 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2003 and from $54.1 million in the first quarter a year ago. Revenue for the quarter included $10.5 million in communicator sales and $2.6 million in organizer and accessory sales and other revenue. Treo 600 production started late in the quarter, therefore limiting revenue for the period. The Company exited the quarter with a backlog of orders.

On a GAAP basis, net loss for the period totaled $13.9 million, or $0.09 per share as compared to a net loss of $13.0 million, or $0.09 per share in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2003 and a net loss of $15.3 million or $0.11 per share in the first quarter a year ago.

"We were pleased this quarter to have certified and started shipping the new Treo 600 smartphone on both the Sprint network in the U.S. and the Orange network in Europe," said Donna Dubinsky, chief executive officer of Handspring. "In addition, we are delighted to be launching the product with support from three additional U.S. carriers, specifically AT&T, Cingular and T-Mobile."

As of September 27, 2003, Handspring's unrestricted cash and short-term investments totaled $18.9 million, down $18.0 million from June 28, 2003. As part of the merger agreement between Palm, Inc. and Handspring, Palm has agreed to provide up to a $20.0 million line of credit to Handspring for working-capital purposes, subject to certain conditions. To date, Handspring has not borrowed funds from Palm.

Handspring currently is shipping its new flagship Treo 600 smartphone to Sprint in the U.S. and Orange in Europe and began selling the Sprint product on the Handspring.com website yesterday. The Company expects to make Treo 600 available to Cingular, T-Mobile and AT&T customers soon. Handspring also will deliver the Treo 600 to select distribution partners in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America to broaden its global distribution of Treo 600 this calendar year.

Merger with Palm Solutions Group
On September 26, 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission declared effective Palm's registration statement on Form S-4, which includes the proxy statement for the proposed merger of Handspring and the Palm Solutions Group of Palm, Inc. Handspring will hold a special stockholders meeting on October 28, 2003 to vote on the merger. All Handspring stockholders of record as of September 23, 2003 are eligible to vote at the meeting or by proxy. The merger is expected to close on October 28, 2003.

"We are pleased with the progress of our integration planning for Handspring's merger with the Palm Solutions Group of Palm, Inc.," said Dubinsky. "We believe that the combined company, under the palmOne name, will continue to be a global leader in mobile computing."