SALO, Finland, Sept. 13, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Benefon, a leader in navigation solutions and location-based services, and Satelinx International (Pink Sheets:SLXI), a developer of location technology products, today announced that they have entered into an Letter of Intent (LOI) to acquire the product designs of a GPS/GSM watch currently owned by Satelinx International.
Benefon will be testing the capability of the GPS watch in relation to its own core technology and will be integrating its proprietary protocols into the Satelinx watch to test compatibility and integration into Benefon's back-end solutions.
The LOI is subject to the successful testing of the GPS watch, and once it is proven to work, will be subject to a royalty based payment arrangement with a maximum payment amount.
Benefon would then launch a bundled solution that will enable the company to sell its new integrated GPS/GSM handheld due out in the fourth quarter of 2005, with multiple watches as a set, enabling parents to track their kids as well as the ability to provide solutions linked to the elderly.
"The watch concept opens a whole new market to us," stated Brian Katzen, Benefon's chairman, "and falls into our philosophy of being able to bring tailored solutions that are needed by consumers in everyday life."
Satelinx CEO Sam Grinfeld stated, "Once we had this technology ready for the market, we sought the most appropriate player in the GPS space to maximize the potential for this product and Benefon was the perfect partner. Its strategic manufacturing and distribution partner in China, and its ability to link the watch to a handset and to utilize existing distribution channels made this the right move for us." Subject to the successful testing of the product, the plan is to launch the sales of the watch in first quarter of 2006
About Satelinx
Satelinx International Inc. provides satellite vehicle tracking units that integrate GSM/GPS/GPRS wireless technologies and the Internet to deliver wireless vehicle tracking and location services. Satelinx seeks to be recognized as the world leader in providing safety and security solutions on a global scale in a cost-effective manner for vehicle owners, trucking or private vehicle fleets and insurance companies.
About Benefon Benefon was founded in late 1987, when the first managing director of Nokia-Mobira, Jorma Nieminen, decided with two colleagues to found a company of their own. The product development and manufacturing of the first products was done by a few dozen pioneers. Benefon Forte NMT 450 was the very first mobile phone from the new company. The product itself tells a lot about the company's philosophy; it was radical and innovative and actually the world's first mobile phone to include a built-in answering machine.
Brian Katzen, chairman of the Board, and Jeff Crevoiserat, are also representatives of OCTAGON SOLUTION Ltd. and are the majority owners of the company.
Benefon is a publicly traded company on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. www.benefon.com.
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