Application template hides complexity of creating data-driven enterprise applications for order entry, sales tracking, inventory management

Cambridge, MA (August 25, 2004) SYWARE®, Inc., a leading developer of intuitive database tools for business and personal productivity, today announced Northwind Mobile Traders, a software template that allows the quick and easy creation of data-driven mobile applications for Windows Mobile Pocket PCs. Northwind Mobile Traders is modeled after Microsoft's® Northwind Traders sample database software for Windows-based systems running Access or SQL Server. SYWARE's new, mobile edition runs in conjunction with the company's award-winning database and forms development software, Visual CE®, and provides users with pre-built templates that allow for quick and easy creation of mobile order entry, sales tracking, and inventory management applications.

"The biggest challenge facing businesses, regardless of their size, is how to obtain faster access to critical information," said Sy Danberg, President of SYWARE. "That means fast order processing, efficient sales tracking, and just-in-time inventory management. A mobile platform provides the flexibility needed to achieve these goals, whether you're looking at the receiving dock or field service. Now, Northwind Mobile Traders helps businesses more quickly develop and deploy just such applications, with no programming required. Start with a pre-built template and you're off and running in no time."

Getting a Grip on Crucial Data

The Northwind Mobile Traders application template contains sales and product information for a fictitious company invented by Microsoft called Northwind Traders, a company that imports and exports specialty foods around the world. The application template contains tables and fields that are preconfigured to allow users to experiment with the data from this company, and use the tables, forms, and other database objects as models for their own mobile database applications.

Northwind Mobile Traders includes tables for products/items, suppliers, customers, orders, employees, and categories. Users can enter additional information, edit existing data, and create their own applications for order entry, sales tracking, and inventory management.

Flexible Forms & Easy-to-Use Databases

Northwind Mobile Traders works in conjunction with SYWARE's Visual CE, the popular forms and database development software for Windows Mobile Pocket PCs. Visual CE's drag-and-drop customization enables the rapid creation of database and forms applications by programmers and business professionals alike; no programming is required. Users simply decide what information is needed, then drag and drop controls to create custom electronic forms.

Visual CE's flexible forms designer provides complete control over the form creation process. Text, numbers, and pictures can be placed anywhere on the screen. Applications can draw from a complete set of controls: drop down lists, labels, edit boxes, note boxes, check boxes, radio buttons, command buttons, lookups, grid control, and more. Font control, device-based printing, timestamps, Digital Ink (scribble), and calculated fields are also supported. Additional features include support for color, data filtering, wild card searches, password protection, and calculations across records.

Now users can create their own mobile applications by starting with the data available in Northwind Mobile Traders. The template's pre-built tables, forms, and database objects allow quick and easy development of a variety of applications to track sales and inventory.

Pricing & Delivery

Northwind Mobile Traders runs on the full spectrum of Windows Mobile Pocket PCs. It is available for no charge as part of SYWARE's Visual CE 8 software at http://www.syware.com/northwind. Choose from Personal Edition, with full forms design, relational database, and synchronization capabilities; Professional Edition, with all the features of Personal Edition and royalty-free distribution rights; Enterprise Edition, with all the features of the Professional Edition plus SYWARE's Report CE software. Northwind Mobile Traders is also included in the no-charge Evaluation Edition of Visual CE, a 30-day demonstration version.

Existing Visual CE 8.x customers can obtain a copy of Northwind Mobile Traders by downloading a no-charge upgrade to version 8.2. Visual CE customers of previous versions can obtain Northwind Mobile Traders by upgrading to the most recent version of Visual CE for the normal upgrade cost at http://www.syware.com/prodlib/win_ce/vce/upgrades.htm.

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