FOR RELEASE JANUARY 6, 1993

Contact: Beverlee Heiszler
Sophisticated Circuits, Inc.
Voice: 425-485-7979
Fax: 425-485-7172
E-mail:



SOPHISTICATED CIRCUITS EARNS EDDY AWARD for POWERPAD

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--January 6, 1993--Sophisticated Circuits today announced that PowerPad®, a 10-key numeric input pad for the PowerBook, has been selected as the winner of the 1992 Input Device Eddy Award. The Eddy Award recognizes the best Macintosh products released during 1992, according to a panel of MacUser magazine editors.

PowerPad offers a efficient and customizable numeric entry and function key solution for the PowerBook. PowerPad's advanced ergonomics include a protective plastic cover that opens to support the key pad at a comfortable working angle. The face of the key pad and the individual keys have been sculpted to increase keystroke accuracy and reduce fatigue. The "enter" and "+" keys can be customized to a user's preferred style of work. And the numeric keys can be switched to function key mode by a single touch of the "mode" key.

PowerPad ships with a new desk accessory, 10Key Tape, that serves as a calculating tape. PowerPad also provides a "pass through" ADB port so that the PowerBook's ADB port is not terminated. Of the keypads on the market, only PowerPad includes a software patch, ModifierKeys, that enables users to continue working with common keyboard shortcuts in programs like Microsoft Excel and CE QuicKeys.

The Eddy award was presented to Sophisticated Circuits at the eighth annual awards ceremony held in San Francisco during MacWorld. PowerPad was one of 40 products honored at the event, chosen from over one thousand products evaluated by MacUser's editorial and labs staff this year. The products are evaluated on the basis of performance, quality, innovation, usefulness and value to users of Macintosh computers.

We designed PowerPad with the power user in mind," said Amar Singh, president and founder of Sophisticated Circuits. "The design and features of the product grew out of a careful analysis of how accountants, auditors, and other ‘number crunchers’ actually work with computers. This Eddy award endorses our design philosophy and the value it delivers to the user."

According to Jon Zilber, MacUser's editor-in-chief, the Eddy Awards are perceived by Macintosh product buyers as the ultimate seal of approval. "We apply the highest level of expertise and commitment to the selection process because buyers rely on us to do just that. By naming PowerPad an Eddy winner, we applaud its significant contribution to the Mac marketplace," says Zilber.

With an average of more than 410,000 business buyers, MacUser magazine has the highest paid circulation among Macintosh magazines. The monthly magazine features product-intensive editorial and laboratory-based product reviews focused on enhancing productivity through the use of Macintosh products.

Sophisticated Circuits, Inc. was founded in 1985 to develop and market innovative hardware solutions that help users increase the basic functionality and convenience of the Macintosh. The company also markets PowerKey Pro, PowerKey and PowerKey Remote power management products and Desktop Dialer, an ADB device that turns Macintosh computers into automatic telephone speed dialers. The company is located in Bothell, WA and is privately held.

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Complete product information is available at http://www.sophisticated.com/. PowerKey and PowerPad are registered trademarks, and Desktop Dialer, PowerKey Remote and 10Key Tape are trademarks of Sophisticated Circuits, Inc. ADB, Apple, Macintosh, Mac OS, and Mac are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Other trademarks are property of their respective owners.