Smart Modular Tech Adds Voice to High-Speed PCMCIA Fax-Modems for Notebook,
Palmtop Computers

- Voice, fax, high-speed data in one PCMCIA card.
- Voice mail, mailbox, fax-back capabilities.
- Ultra-low-power sleep mode extends battery life.

FREMONT, Calif. -- June 28, 1994 -- Voice capabilities have been added to
the family of high-speed PCMCIA-based fax/data modems introduced earlier
this year by PCMCIA card maker Smart Modular Technologies Inc. in the
company's latest new product offering to meet the needs of the
mobile-computing industry.

Smart Modular Tech -- all of whose products are designed and made in
company owned facilities in Fremont, California -- is a six-year-old
producer of memory and upgrade cards for portable computers. The company's
new voice/fax/data modem card joins a full complement of more than 50
different types of SRAM, pseudo-static RAM (PSRAM), flash, one-time
programmable (OTP) and mask ROM cards in PCMCIA 2.0 format. The company
also manufactures volumes of DRAM cards in 88-pin JEIDA/JEDEC format.

Voice Mail, Mailbox, Fax-back Capabilities

The new card, designated ST1414L, supports an extended command set for
voice applications, including voice mail, mailbox and fax-back
capabilities. The card also supports 3-bit and 4-bit ADPCM and A-law
compression, enabling the user to save more messages in systems with
limited disk space. Microphone and speaker interfaces are supported to
permit the user to record and listen to messages directly. The use of a
handset is also supported. Other key features of the new card include a
battery-saving ultra-low-power sleep mode and built-in DAA line interface
circuits.

Data Compression = 57.6 Kbps Throughput

The ST1414L voice/fax modem provides complete data and facsimile
capabilities as well as error correction and data compression, all in
credit-card-size PCMCIA format. The card also offers auto dial and auto
answer as well as fallback capability for compatibility with slower
modems.

The ST1414L is the ideal multi-mode communication solution for portable
data systems, including laptop and notebook computers, giving the mobile
professional all of the communications capabilities required for operating
an office on the road. The card offers full-duplex data communication at
14,400 bits per second (bps) and facsimile transmission and reception at
an industry-leading rate of 14,400 bps.

Through full compliance with the V.42 and V.42 bis CCITT standards, the
ST1414L permits data compression by as much as four-to-one, which means
that throughput of data can be as high as 57.6 Kbps. In data mode, the
card implements all of the data rates and modulation schemes specified in
CCITT recommendations V.22 and V.22 bis, as well as the Bell 212A and 103
standards. This gives it an operating range of 300 bps to 14,400 bps,
covering all industry-standard rates.

Embedded in an on-board ROM is a data mode "Attention" (AT) command set
that is among the most widely used modem command sets. With this
implementation, the ST1414L is compatible with the large base of
communications application software packages supporting the standard
EIA/TIA-578 Class 1 command set. This feature allows communication with
Group 3 fax machines.

In the facsimile mode, the ST1414L implements all of the data rates and
modulation schemes specified in CCITT recommendations V.17, V.29, V.27
ter, and V.21. This capability provides operating rates from 300 bps to
14,400 bps. Implementation of V.17, which is the 14,400 bps standard,
enables the card to transfer data at the highest rate currently specified
for facsimile modems, which reduces the amount of time the modem is
connected to the telephone line, thereby reducing connection charges.

Users can connect the ST1414L to a telephone line with a one-piece cable
that comes with the card. The phone line interface (DAA, or "data access
arrangement") circuitry is built-in.

Conserves Power

"Conservation of power is vital in portable digital systems, and we are
doing our part by making modems as miserly with power as the
state-of-the-art will allow," said Bill Johnston, director of marketing
for Smart Modular Tech. "In virtually any data system equipped with a
modem card -- laptop, palm-top or desktop computer -- the modem consumes a
significant amount of power continuously as long as the system is
operating, whether or not the modem is activated," he said.

"Our new 'ST1414L' voice/fax modem cards are unique in that they go to
sleep on command, dropping power consumption to less than 4 milliamps.
Comparable modems draw at least 15 milliamps in the sleep mode." Operating
power is typically only 120 milliamperes.

Power-down modes of the "ST1414L" voice/fax-modem card family conserve
power and extend battery life when the modems are not in use. In the
"sleep" mode, power is removed from most of the card's internal circuitry.
This mode is entered when no activity has been detected for a period of
time, and is exited when a read, write or ring signal is detected.

Made in the U.S.

An early member of the PC Memory Card International Association, SMART
Modular Technologies, Inc., is a six-year-old company that designs,
manufactures, and markets application-specific and custom, high-capacity
modules and cards that meet standards set by the PC Memory Card
International Association (PCMCIA).

The company's products, all manufactured in the U.S., are used to expand
the functionality of portable data systems -- including palmtop, notebook
and laptop computers -- as well as workstations, desktop computers and
telecommunications systems.

Smart Modular Technologies
45531 Northport Loop West
Fremont, CA 94538
510-623-1231

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