European Test House Testronic Laboratories Approved as First European ExpressCard(R)...

European Test House Testronic Laboratories Approved as First European
ExpressCard(R) Test House

Testronic Laboratories (PMTC) Will Be the First to Offer ExpressCard Standard
Compliance Testing

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- PCMCIA, the trade
association for PC Card(TM) and ExpressCard(R) technologies, today announced
that leading European test house Testronic Laboratories, via its PMTC facility
in Hasselt, Belgium, has been approved to offer compliance testing for the
ExpressCard Standard in Europe.

ExpressCard technology (www.expresscard.org) is the next-generation PC Card
technology for high-performance expansion of mobile and desktop systems.
ExpressCard and PC Card slots can be found on more than 95 percent of notebook
computers.

Testronic Laboratories is the third test house to be approved to test
ExpressCard products to ensure that they meet the Standard's requirements.
Compliant systems and modules are able to display the ExpressCard logo -- an
orange rabbit that tells consumers that ExpressCard products are
interoperable, hot swappable and plug'n'play.

"We are pleased to have added ExpressCard product testing to our array of
services," said Johan Craeybeckx, CTO of Testronic Laboratories. "As the
leading test house, we offer a proven track record in product testing that
will help European companies bring their ExpressCard products to market more
quickly. We look forward to working with PCMCIA to support this standard."

"The heart of the ExpressCard Standard is its compliance program, which
assures any user anywhere that their product will interoperate with other
ExpressCard products," said Brad Saunders, chairman, PCMCIA. "The addition of
Testronic Laboratories expands ExpressCard testing capabilities to three major
markets: the United States, Europe and Asia. This geographic coverage will
enable product developers to more easily verify product interoperability and
earn the right to display the ExpressCard logo."

The multi-step ExpressCard compliance program assures product
interoperability. The first step requires manufacturers to submit an approved
product compatibility checklist. The second step requires formal
interoperability testing, which consists of (1) a standardized test procedure
conducted between participating host systems and module products and (2) a set
of mandatory tests against a "gold" suite of compliant host systems and
modules. This can be done either through a test house or PCMCIA-sponsored
workshop.

ExpressCard "plug 'n' play" applications include memory, local area network
(LAN), wireless broadband (WWAN), WiFi, memory adapters, parallel adapters,
serial adapters, TV tuners, smart card readers, instrumentation, 1394A&B and
serial ATA (SATA). ExpressCard technology also supports the advanced serial
I/O technologies: USB 2.0 and PCI-Express.

Compliant products are listed on the ExpressCard Resource Directory page at
www.expresscard.org. Information on where to purchase ExpressCard products can
be found on the Where to Buy page at www.expresscard.org.

Dell, Fujitsu, Fujitsu Siemens, HP, Intel, Lenovo, Lexar Media, LG
Electronics, Microsoft, Sony, Texas Instruments and Toshiba are among those
supporting development of the ExpressCard standard.

About Testronic Laboratories
Testronic Laboratories is the world's leading test house for hardware quality
assurance and certification of many types of multimedia equipment and
interfaces. The company is the world's largest DVD testing company and a
leading specialist in testing of computer games. In addition to its PMTC
facility in Belgium, Testronic also has operations in the United States, the
United Kingdom and Poland.

About PCMCIA
PCMCIA is a non-profit trade association founded in 1989 to establish
technical standards for PC Card technology and to promote interchangeability
among computer systems. Already a feature in almost every notebook and
palmtop computer, PC Card technology empowers users to configure systems and
create unique, integrated solutions to meet their computing needs. Based in
San Jose, California, the association has a growing membership of 150
companies worldwide. The PCMCIA also has a specification development and
co-publishing relationship with the Japan Electronics and Information
Technology Industries Association (JEITA) covering PC Card and Smart Media
technologies.

ExpressCard is a registered trademark of PCMCIA. PC Card is a trademark of
PCMCIA. *All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their
registered owners.

SOURCE PCMCIA

Mary Hain of Hain Communications, +1-925-926-0326, mary@hainpr.com, for
PCMCIA