SALON Issue #19

(no name) ((no email))
Sun, 9 Jun 1996 19:32:29 -0400

Hello-
I am very pleased to announce the availability of BookWire Insider
Direct, the new daily email book news service from BookWire.

BookWire Insider Direct brings you the book news you need to make
informed decisions in the quickly changing business of books. We scan
the major newswires for book-related stories, add additional stories
from our partner publications (now including Publishers Weekly and
Subtext), add a book business stock ticker, and deliver it all to you
before 8am every business day.

Your $59 subscription gives you a full year of BookWire Insider Direct,
as well as access to upcoming subscriber-only areas of the BookWire
Insider website.

Subscribe today by filling out the simple form at
http://www.bookwire.com/insider/ or call 800-226-6594. Your first
BookWire Insider Direct will arrive within 24 hours.

A sample copy of BookWire Insider Direct is attached. Please enjoy it.

Jamey Bennett
President, BookWire

Subject: BookWire Insider Direct TEST for June 9, 1996
Sent: 6/9/96 5:41 PM
Received: 6/9/96 6:00 PM
From: BookWire Insider Direct,
insider-direct@soapbox.bookwire.com To: BookWire Insider
Direct, insider-direct@soapbox.bookwire.com

BookWire Insider Direct (tm)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Every business day, BookWire Insider (tm) brings you the book news you
need to make informed decisions in the quickly changing business of
books. Visit the BookWire Insider website frequently at
http://www.bookwire.com/insider/

NEWS FROM BOOKWIRE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grolier Mum On Nalle's Departure

Grolier said last week that Peter Nalle resigned as COO of Grolier Inc.
and president of its publishing division. The announcement came a week
after Nalle's abrupt departure on May 24.

A spokesman for Grolier declined to comment on the circumstances
surrounding Nalle's departure as did Nalle himself when reached at his
Connecticut home by Subtext. "I'm happy. They [Grolier] are as well.
Life moves forward," he said.

Executive vice president Joseph Tessitore will assume Nalle's post as
head of the publishing division. He was previously responsible for the
division's sales and marketing operations and reported to Nalle.
Tessitore was not available for comment on his new position. The COO
slot will not be filled, and the executives who reported to Nalle in
that capacity will now report directly Arnaud Lagardere, chairman and
CEO of Grolier.

A Tenure Of Reorganization
Nalle joined Grolier in December 1993, reporting to then CEO William
Johnson. The company subsequently went through a number of changes under
Nalle's direction. Grolier's publishing and reference groups were
combined to create Grolier Publishing Company. At the same time,
Grolier's electronic unit, then part of reference, became Grolier
Electronic Publishing, a full-fledged division of Grolier Inc.

In July 1994 the Lagardere Groupe, holding company of Grolier's parent
Hachette, said it had chosen Grolier to spearhead Groupe's entire
multimedia effort. With the announcement, Grolier was moved from
Hachette Livre's sphere and placed directly under Groupe. Arnaud
Lagardere, a youthful member of the owner family, was named chairman,
and eventually CEO.

Multimedia A Disappointment
Grolier, although achieving some measure of success with its multimedia
reference products, has reportedly not come close to the profits hoped
for. In addition, sources familiar with the company speculate Grolier
optioned CD-ROM rights [for which it paid handsomely] for a large number
of works that will not materialize into profitable products. Revenues
from its electronic media are estimated at under $10 million.

Prior to his tenure at Grolier, Nalle was president of Simon &
Schuster's Professional Information Group. Grolier's revenues were about
$400 million in 1995 and holds sixth place in Subtext's ranking of
foreign-based book businesses in the U.S. (Subtext, April 24).

St. Martin's: "Frankly, My Dear..."

Stung again by a book it doesn't like, St. Martin's Press faces the
onerous task of earning back the $4.5 million it paid to Margaret
Mitchell's estate for the rights to publish the sequel to the sequel of
Gone With the Wind.

Severely critical of the first draft of Tara by British author Emma
Tennant, St. Martin's fired her from the project, leaving itself without
a book and a mamoth oustanding advance. Tennant got to keep a $230,000
portion of her advance from the Mitchell estate. After two years, she
produced a 575-page manuscript that completely bombed with the publisher
as the sequel to Scarlett. A similar, albeit far less expensive,
experience took place earlier this year with St. Martin's cancellation
of David Irving's biography of Joseph Goebbels (Subtext, April 10).
Reports said Irving was paid $15,000 of his promised advance of $25,000
for the book, which drew a lot of flak.

[ Stories supplied by Subtext, a bi-weekly newsletter on the book
business. Watch for the Subtext website on BookWire -- coming soon. To
subscribe to Subtext call 203-316-8008, or email odasan@aol.com. ]

(Please send press releases for this area to sizzle@bookwire.com
or fax to 212-982-6454.)

NEWS FROM AROUND THE PUBLISHING WORLD
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

BWID examined [18,736] stories today and found [7] on relevant topics.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. STEPHEN KING'S THE GREEN MILE, PART 3/ COFFEY'S HANDS TAKES THE NO.
1
POSITION ON USA TODAY'S BEST-SELLING BOOKS LIST

2. A NEW WRITING PROGRAM FOR A NEW GENERATION OF STUDENTS RELEASED BY
PRENTICE HALL SCHOOL DIVISION

3. PENCIL UNITES PUBLISHING GIANTS TO DONATE MORE THAN 900,000 BOOKS TO
EMERGENCY BOOK FUND

4. HANDLEMAN COMPANY ANNOUNCES OPERATING RESULTS FOR THE YEAR AND
QUARTER
ENDED APRIL 27, 1996

5. THE BISHOP COMPANY PUBLISHES THE THIRD UPDATED STUDY OF WIRELESS
DATA
NETWORKS / A GUIDE TO MOBILE COMPUTING

6. DIVORCE AND CREDIT REPAIR TOP E-Z LEGAL'S NEW SELF-HELP SOFTWARE --
PRODUCTS INCLUDE BOTH DISKS AND CD-ROM

7. INDIVIDUAL INC DOWN 0.69 TO 19.81 ON VOLUME OF 23,100 SHARES

==========================================================================
SUBJECT: STEPHEN KING'S THE GREEN MILE, PART 3/ COFFEY'S HANDS TAKES
THE
NO. 1 POSITION ON USA TODAY'S BEST-SELLING BOOKS LIST
SOURCE: Business Wire via First! by Individual, Inc.
DATE: June 6, 1996
INDEX: [1]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE) via Individual Inc. -- Stephen King's The
Green Mile, Part 3: Coffey's Hands takes the No. 1 position on USA
TODAY's Best-Selling Books list while The Runaway Jury by John Grisham
drops to No. 2 after holding the top spot for two consecutive weeks.

The top 10 Best-Selling Books across the USA last week:

1. The Green Mile, Part 3: CoffeyUs Hands by Stephen King; Signet,

$2.99 (No. 2 last week)

2. The Runaway Jury by John Grisham; Doubleday, $26.95 (No. 1

last week)

3. Bad as I Wanna Be by Dennis Rodman with Tim Keown; Delacorte

Press, $22.95 (No. 3 last week)

4. Say Cheese and Die - Again! by R.L. Stine; Scholastic, $3.99

(No. 4 last week)

5. How Stella Got Her Groove Back by Terry McMillan; Viking,

$23.95 (No. 7 last week)

6. Falling Up by Shel Silverstein; HarperCollins, $16.95 (No. 6

last week)

7. The Green Mile, Part 2: The Mouse on the Mile by Stephen King;

Signet, $2.99 (No. 5 last week)

8. The Dilbert Principle by Scott Adams; HarperBusiness, $20

(No. 8 last week)

9. Oh, The Places YouUll Go by Dr. Seuss; Random House, $16

(No. 11 last week)

10. The Tenth Insight by James Redfield; Warner, $19.95 (No. 9

last week)

For the complete Best-Selling Books list, see Thursday's editions of
USA TODAY. Each Thursday in the Life section, USA TODAY publishes a
list of the top 50 selling books of the previous week based solely on
confidential retail sales data from major chain and independent
bookstores across the country. Included are more than one million
volumes from approximately 3,000 large-inventory, diverse-content
bookstores.

A list of the top 150 Best-Selling Books is posted on the USA TODAY
web site every Wednesday evening. Point your browser
http://usatoday.com/life/enter/books/leb.htm.

USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books shows readers what is selling across
the whole range of books, not just what is selling by category.
Hardcover, paperback, fiction and non-fiction are pooled together.

USA TODAY is the nation's top-selling newspaper. It is published via
satellite at 33 locations in the USA and at four sites abroad. With a
total average daily circulation of 2,181,494, USA TODAY is available
worldwide.

CONTACT: USA TODAY, Arlington, Va. | Steven Anderson, office:
703/276- 5872

[06-06-96 at 10:32 EDT, Business Wire, File: b0606103.000]

==========================================================================
SUBJECT: A NEW WRITING PROGRAM FOR A NEW GENERATION OF STUDENTS
RELEASED BY
PRENTICE HALL SCHOOL DIVISION
SOURCE: Business Wire via First! by Individual, Inc.
DATE: June 6, 1996
INDEX: [2]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPPER SADDLE RIVER, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE) via Individual Inc. --
Students in grades six through eight learn every step of the writing
process with a new interactive multimedia program from leading
education publisher Prentice Hall School.

Called The Writer's Solution, the just-released program is billed as
a
"New Writing Program for a New Generation."

"We found that multimedia, especially in conjunction with computers,
more successfully motivated and involved students to become better
writers," said Jane Antoun, president of the Prentice Hall School
Division. "The Writer's Solution uses technology to create a new, more
effective curriculum for teaching writing."

The first program of its kind, The Writer's Solution uses video, art,
sound, graphics, and other interactive features to excite
MTV-generation students about writing. It also helps students master
grammar, usage and mechanics, and develop higher-level critical
thinking skills.

The program encompasses a full year's course in writing at grade six,
seven, and eight and provides students with many opportunities for
experiential learning, allowing teachers to individualize instructions
better than ever. The Writer's Solution seamlessly integrates with
Prentice Hall's best-selling Literature series and its new Choices in
Literature series, as well as other language art programs.

"The Writer's Solution enables teachers to help every student grow as
a reader and as a writer," said Beverly Ann Chin, Professor of English,
University of Montana. "Students discover their own voices and become
empowered, literate individuals through The Writer's Solution."

Components of The Writer's Solution cover all aspects of writing
instruction. The Writers at Work videodisc features real writers
leading students through the writing process. The Writing Lab CD-ROM
helps students work through interactive tutorials on the major modes of
writing, while the Student Sourcebook provides colorful text lessons
tailored to the videodisc and CD-ROM content.

Activity-based lessons in grammar, usage and mechanics can be found
in the Language Lab CD-ROM. The Writer's Toolkit software collects
more than 50 tools and activities to help students become better
writers, and the Annotated Teacher's Edition draws all the elements of
the program together.

At the start of The Writer's Solution are computer-based interactive
tutorials, covering all major types of writing, that guide students
through the four steps of the writing process: prewriting, drafting,
revising/editing, and publishing/presenting.

CONTACT: Prentice Hall School | Mollie Ledwith, 201/236-5458 | or |
Scanlon & Associates | Catherine Wambach, 505/281-5324

[06-06-96 at 12:41 EDT, Business Wire, File: b0606123.900]

==========================================================================
SUBJECT: PENCIL UNITES PUBLISHING GIANTS TO DONATE MORE THAN 900,000
BOOKS
TO EMERGENCY BOOK FUND
SOURCE: PR Newswire via First! by Individual, Inc.
DATE: June 6, 1996
INDEX: [3]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

NEW YORK, June 6 /PRNewswire/ via Individual Inc. -- In less than four
months, PENCIL -- a non-profit organization that fosters private sector
partnerships throughout the school system -- has collected more than
900,000 books for the first phase of its newly-created EMERGENCY BOOK
FUND.

"Thanks to an unprecedented, non-competitive union among publishers,
large and small, the EMERGENCY BOOK FUND was able to reach the first
phase of its goal in record time," said Diana Burroughs, Executive
Director of PENCIL and coordinator of the Book Fund.

Among the publishers helping PENCIL reach the 1,000,000 mark are:
Bantam Doubleday Dell, Colliers; K-III Communications; Little, Brown &
Company; National Park Services; Penguin USA; The Putnam Berkley Group;
Random House; Reader's Digest; Scholastic; Simon & Schuster; Troll
Communications; and
Warner Books.

In mid-May, a catalogue listing available books was distributed by
PENCIL to superintendents in each school district and were then shipped
to principals in the more than 1,100 public schools in New York City.
Orders will be filled by the end of June, completing Phase One of the
EMERGENCY BOOK FUND. Phase Two kicks off at the beginning of the
1996-97 school year when principals receive a voucher for $1.00 for
each registered student enabling schools to order current books from
the participating publishers at a 50% discount.

An additional 200,000 - 300,000 books will be put into public schools
during Phase Two of the Book Fund," said Ms. Burroughs. "The
distribution of these materials will fulfill PENCIL's mission to provide
New York City public schools with 1,000,000 books that are current,
diverse in subject matter and of the highest quality.

The EMERGENCY BOOK FUND was initiated by Beverly Chell, vice chairman
of K-III Communications, following her participation in last year's
PRINCIPAL FOR A DAY (PFAD) program, another PENCIL project that matches
more than 1,000 business and community leaders with public schools to
experience first-hand the strengths and challenges that schools face
each day. Ms. Chell, a veteran of the publishing industry, asked
students at the PFAD school she visited what they would most want for
their school if they could have anything, and the reply was "more
books."

"We are overwhelmed by the unselfish support of the publishing
industry; however, to make Phase Two of the program a success, we still
need financial support from the public," added Ms. Burroughs. "We need
everyone who cares about the future of our children to reach into his or
her pocket to make a contribution. Every dollar donated buys one book
for a student in the New York City public school system; and believe
me, they need your help."

PENCIL, which stands for Public Education Needs Civic Involvement in
Learning, is seeking private donations in any amount. Contributions are
tax-deductible. To support the EMERGENCY BOOK FUND, please call
212-909- 1722 or send checks to:

EMERGENCY BOOK FUND

c/o PENCIL

Park Avenue Plaza

55 East 52nd Street, 30th Floor

New York, N.Y. 10055

/CONTACT: Carolyn McClair, 212-586-7089, or Mike Morris,
212-838-9216, both of PENCIL/ (KCC)

[06-06-96 at 14:01 EDT, PR Newswire, File: p0606135.900]

==========================================================================
SUBJECT: HANDLEMAN COMPANY ANNOUNCES OPERATING RESULTS FOR THE YEAR
AND
QUARTER ENDED APRIL 27, 1996
SOURCE: PR Newswire via First! by Individual, Inc.
DATE: June 6, 1996
INDEX: [4]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

TROY, Mich., June 6 /PRNewswire/ via Individual Inc. -- Handleman
Company (NYSE: HDL) today announced results for its fiscal year ended
April 27, 1996. Net sales were $1.13 billion, compared with $1.23
billion for the fiscal year ended April 29, 1995, a decrease of 8%. The
Company's operating results were negatively impacted by the lower sales
level, coupled with a lower gross profit margin percentage and higher
selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses. As a result of
these factors, the Company experienced a net loss of $22.5 million or a
loss of $.67 per share for fiscal 1996, compared with net income of
$28.0 million or $.84 per share for fiscal 1995. The predominant share
of the loss for fiscal 1996 occurred in the fourth quarter (a loss of
$.61 per share), of which approximately $.26 per share related to a
provision recorded for markdowns and other costs being incurred in
connection with an inventory reduction program.

Music sales for fiscal 1996 were $657.2 million, up slightly from
$653.4 million the prior year. Video sales for fiscal year 1996 were
$359.3 million, compared with $461.6 million last year, a decrease of
22%. The decrease in video sales was primarily attributable to lower
sales to a major customer which began to purchase a substantial portion
of its video product directly from manufacturers, and reduced sales of
catalog and budget products. Book sales were $55.1 million this year
versus $57.6 million last year, a decrease of 4%. The decline in book
sales was predominantly caused by lower sales to a major customer
resulting from a decrease in the number of departments shipped.
Personal computer software sales increased 14% in fiscal year 1996 to
$61.0 million, from $53.5 million last year; this increase was
principally due to sales to a customer the Company added to the account
base and higher sales of proprietary products.

North Coast Entertainment, Inc. ("NCE"), a subsidiary of Handleman
Company, includes the Company's proprietary product operations. NCE
sales, which are included in the results reported above, represent sales
of licensed video, music and personal computer software products. During
fiscal 1996, NCE closed Entertainment Zone, a subsidiary which sold
music, video and book products in departments leased from certain
retailers. NCE sales during fiscal 1996 (excluding Entertainment Zone
sales in both periods) were $101.5 million, compared to $81.0 million
last year, a 25% increase. This sales increase was primarily
attributable to sales from companies acquired in fiscal 1995. The
Company is pursuing opportunities to increase sales of proprietary
products, which contribute a relatively higher gross profit margin
percentage.

The gross profit margin percentage for the Company, before the impact
of the inventory reduction provision, was 21.6% for fiscal 1996,
compared with 22.7% for fiscal year 1995. The majority of this decline
resulted from the shift of music sales to higher-priced compact disc
product, which carries a lower gross profit margin percentage than
other music products.

The Company's SG&A expenses were $243.9 million or 21.5% of net sales
in fiscal 1996, compared to $212.1 million or 17.3% of net sales last
year. The Core Rackjobbing division contributed to the increase in SG&A
expenses as a percentage of net sales due to: incremental costs
associated with providing services not offered last year, including
servicing key account book departments, expansion of in-store
interactive devices and re-fixturing programs; the effect of the
relationship of fixed costs
(e.g., computer and administrative staffs) on a lower sales level; and
additional costs resulting from transition to the Midwest automated
distribution center.

NCE and start-up costs within the Company's International division
also contributed to the increase in SG&A expenses as a percentage of net
sales. NCE has a higher SG&A expense to net sales percentage than the
comparable percentage for the Company as a whole. NCE sales represented
a greater proportion of overall sales this year than last year, thus
increasing the overall SG&A expense to net sales percentage.

The Company has begun implementation of an aggressive inventory
reduction program which will reduce financing costs, as well as lower
SG&A costs due to increased operating efficiency. During the fourth
quarter of fiscal 1996, the Company recorded a $14.5 million pre-tax
provision ($.26 per share after-tax) related to markdowns and other
costs being incurred in connection with the inventory reduction
program. The Company believes the long-term benefit of lower financing
and SG&A costs will far exceed the one-time provision. The inventory
reduction program will have a positive cash flow effect.

Stephen Strome, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company,
commented that "Management shares the disappointment of our shareholders
regarding the loss experienced in fiscal 1996, the first annual loss the
Company has experienced since going public in 1963. We have
aggressively implemented plans to return the Company to profitability in
fiscal 1997. We also will continue to move ahead with our strategic
plans which we believe are in the long-term interest of both the
Company and its shareholders."

Mr. Strome went on to say, "The Company has taken, and continues to
take, many steps to reduce SG&A expenses including implementation of
automated distribution centers ("ADC"), reorganization of the sales
force, increased use of automation and technology, and continued focus
on employee headcount and discretionary expenditures. Full
implementation of the second ADC during the summer of 1996 will enable
the Company to reduce U.S. shipping locations from 14 to 6, and further
reductions are being studied. The benefits to be derived from the ADCs
and other technological initiatives include lower inventory levels,
reduced product distribution costs, improved delivery times, reduced
customer return rates and an increase in the quality of service to our
customers. The Company has already reduced its inventory by 23% from
last year, and expects further reductions going forward. On an ongoing
basis, all opportunities for SG&A expense reduction are being
aggressively pursued, with the only caveat being maintenance of
superior customer service."

The Company's first fiscal quarter, however, is traditionally its
weakest quarter. The Company has historically generated the predominant
share of its earnings after the first quarter. In addition, due to
pricing pressures from customers and competition from direct-to-retail
manufacturers, the Company expects to experience a continuing
deterioration in its overall gross profit margin percentage from prior
year levels on a going forward basis. For the first quarter of fiscal
1996, the Company incurred a loss of $.19 per share. Based on these
facts, the Company expects that a loss will be incurred during the first
quarter of fiscal 1997.

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 1996, net sales were $261.0 million,
compared with $303.5 million for the same quarter last year, a decrease
of 14%. This decrease in sales was primarily attributable to the video
product line which experienced lower sales of catalog and budget
products. Net loss for the fourth quarter was $20.5 million or a loss
of
$.61 per share, compared to net income of $546,000 or $.02 per share for
the fourth quarter last year. In addition to the impact of the sales
decline, the decrease in fourth quarter net income was caused by the
aforementioned inventory reduction provision ($.26 per share after-tax),
a decline in the gross profit margin percentage and an increase in SG&A
expenses.

The gross profit margin percentage, before the impact of the inventory
reduction provision, decreased to 19.2% for the fourth quarter of fiscal
1996 from 21.5% for the fourth quarter last year. This decrease was
principally caused by a higher level of discounted sales and the shift
of music sales to higher-priced compact disc product which carries a
lower gross profit margin percentage than other music products.

SG&A expenses were $63.1 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1996
(24.2% of net sales), compared to $54.1 million (17.8% of net sales) for
the fourth quarter of fiscal 1995. The increase in SG&A expenses as a
percentage of net sales was principally attributable to the Core
Rackjobbing division which experienced incremental costs associated with
providing services not offered last year, the effect of the relationship
of fixed costs on a lower sales level, and additional costs resulting
from transition to the Midwest ADC. Also contributing to this increase
were start-up costs incurred in connection with opening or expanding
International markets.

Handleman Company, with annual sales in excess of $1.1 billion, is the
largest supplier and merchandiser of music, video, book and personal
computer software to North America's leading retail chains. The
Company's 3,800 employees ship products to approximately 20,700 retail
departments from distribution facilities located in the United States,
Canada, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
(Dollar and share amounts in thousands, except per share data)

Three Months Ended Year Ended
(Unaudited)
April 27 April 29 April 27 April 29
1996 1995 1996 1995

Net sales $261,043 $303,527 $1,132,607 $1,226,062
Direct product costs 210,925 238,398 887,922 947,598
Inventory reduction
provision 14,500 --- 14,500 ---
Gross profit 35,618 65,129 230,185 278,464
Selling, general and
administrative
expenses 63,090 54,121 243,895 212,094
Provision for realignment
of operations --- 5,500 1,500 5,500
Amortization of
acquisition costs 1,899 2,058 7,965 7,014
Interest expense, net 2,696 3,186 12,039 8,024
Income (loss) before
income taxes (32,067) 264 (35,214) 45,832
Income tax expense
(benefit) (11,598) (282) (12,738) 17,809
Net income (loss) $(20,469) $ 546 $(22,476) $28,023
Earnings (loss)
per share $(.61) $.02 $(.67) $.84

Average number of
shares outstanding 33,564 33,535 33,576 33,518

CONSOLIDATED CONDENSED BALANCE SHEET
(Dollar amounts in thousands)
April 27 April 29
1996 1995

Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $19,936 $24,392
Accounts receivable, less allowance for
gross profit impact of future returns
of $22,141 at April 27, 1996 and
$24,053 at April 29, 1995 257,828 258,651
Merchandise inventories 212,700 276,109
Other current assets 19,349 1,779
Total current assets 509,813 560,931
Property and equipment, net of depreciation
and amortization 111,355 124,772
Other assets 72,746 68,373
Total assets $693,914 $754,076

Liabilities:
Accounts payable $223,023 $243,138
Other current liabilities 41,461 46,823
Total current liabilities 264,484 289,961
Debt, noncurrent 143,600 146,200
Deferred income taxes 6,270 6,263

Shareholders' equity 279,560 311,652

Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $693,914 $754,076

/CONTACT: COMPANY: Larry A. Edwards, Vice President/Treasurer,
810-362- 4400, Ext. 891, or Richard J. Morris, Senior Vice
President/Finance and CFO, 810-362-4400, Ext. 787, both of Handleman;
or INVESTOR RELATIONS: Donald A. Drew of Stone, August, Baker &
Company, 810-362-9300, Ext. 109/
(HDL)

[06-06-96 at 06:45 EDT, PR Newswire, File: p0606064.300]

==========================================================================
SUBJECT: THE BISHOP COMPANY PUBLISHES THE THIRD UPDATED STUDY OF
WIRELESS DATA NETWORKS / A GUIDE TO MOBILE COMPUTING
SOURCE: Business Wire via First! by Individual, Inc.
DATE: June 6, 1996
INDEX: [5]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

KALAMAZOO, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE) via Individual Inc. -- The study
WIRELESS DATA NETWORKS -- A GUIDE TO MOBILE COMPUTING will be shipped
to customers this week. This expanded book retains its graphic,
non-technical approach to evaluating and selecting North American
wireless networks.

The June 1996 edition contains 24 additional pages covering:

-- An updated list of areas having CDPD

-- Information about RAM Mobile Data's strategic network that

combines RAM with paging, cellular and satellite

-- New radiomodems, especially the new crop of PC-card size and

multifunction modems

-- A discussion of TDMA and CDMA data communications in the 800

MHz circuit -- switch cellular network

-- Discussion on Broadband and Narrowband PCS

-- Steps the carriers are taking to expand the appeal of their

networks

Also we have updated the chapters on carriers that cover description,
best use, advantages and disadvantages, costs, data speeds, coverage
and comparison with other networks, etc. These chapters also include
network diagrams and easy-to-use tables comparing characteristics.

The book has just completed reviews by the network carriers
themselves to ensure accuracy in pricing, coverage, equipment,
availability and technical issues.

WIRELESS DATA NETWORKS -- A GUIDE TO MOBILE COMPUTING compares
wireless networks on identical criteria; the costs of sending fax,
E-mail and files, equipment costs and availability, network speed and
capacity, coverage and others. The study is for end-users, sales
representatives, consultants, and others to select the network that
most closely matches their mobile data needs. This book covers:

-- Circuit Switched cellular

-- Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD)

-- Paging
-- RAM Mobile Data

-- ARDIS

-- Enhanced Specialized Mobile Radio (ESMR)(Nextel, Clearnet)

-- Geostationary Satellites

-- Mobile Satellite Systems (IRIDIUM, ORBCOMM, Global star and

Odyssey)

-- Unlicensed networks (Metricom)

The new topic additions in the June 1996 edition of WIRELESS DATA
NETWORKS -- A GUIDE TO M