Hotel Online Special Report 
PCRoomLink, an In-Room PC For Business Travelers, Earns Award at Consumer Electronics Show MILLVILLE, NJ – January 12, 2000 – As the Internet becomes a more common tool in homes and offices and people are becoming more and more reliant on this limitless resource, a number of creative new products have recently been introduced to meet the emerging need for mobile access. Ironically, for all of the hype surrounding futuristic handheld devices, wireless connections, etc., the product chosen as the best way to stay connected while traveling looks a lot like the PC currently on your desk. It’s called PCRoomLink and its ability to offer travelers Internet access and other resources in a familiar fashion helped it to blow away the competition in the CES Workstyle Awards in the “Remote Internet Access Device” category during last week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
PCRoomLink is a system of personal computers with high-speed Internet access that is being installed in hotel rooms around the world to allow business travelers to compute on the road without the expense and inconvenience associated with carrying a laptop. While Camanco Communications, Inc., the developers of PCRoomLink, only started marketing this innovative product last June, they already have 19 hotels under contract and expect to expand that number to over 130 in the US and in Europe by the end of the first quarter.
“When people see PCRoomLink, usually the first response they have is – this is terrific, why hasn’t anyone thought of this before?” said Jim Rossi, Chairman and CEO of Camanco Communications, Inc. and PCRoomLink. “That simplicity is probably what impressed the judges of the CES Workstyle Awards. Businesspeople use computers when they work and when they’re traveling, they work in hotel rooms. PCRoomLink gives business travelers a familiar and comfortable PC where they need it, complete with all of the computing tools they need, including web-based access to their files. Business travelers don’t want the hassle and expense of carrying a laptop, trying to find an extra phone jack and waiting for their data to crawl through standard phone lines. As the judges of the CES Awards realized, there’s a better way to work on the road and that way is PCRoomLink,” said Rossi.
The three judges for the 2000 CES Workstyle Awards were Ed Baig from USA Today, Bob Parks of Wired and Linda Lentz with Home. Products were judged on-site at CES, using the following criteria: engineering quality, intended use, unique features, portability, ease of use, design and improvement to the user’s overall workstyle. Products were separated into five categories and one winner was selected from each. In addition to PCRoomLink, other category winners include The Palm Cam from Panasonic, Think Outside’s Stowaway Portable Keyboard, EnGenius’ SN-900 Ultra cordless phone and Rand-McNally’s Street Finder Deluxe 2000.
“This is one of the most prestigious awards that a new product can receive and we’re thrilled with the honor,” said Rossi. “The fact that we won along with other acclaimed innovators like Panasonic and Rand-McNally is really exciting as well. We’d like to thank CES for this honor and we look forward to highlighting this endorsement as we make PCRoomLink the way millions of travelers stay connected from the road.”
About Camanco Communications, Inc. Camanco Communications, Inc., of Millville, NJ, develops and markets a web-based productivity solution entitled PCRoomLink. This product centers on fully functional personal computers that are being installed in hotel rooms throughout the world. By offering a familiar PC interface, as well as e-mail, high speed Internet access, private on-line file storage, popular software applications (including Microsoft Office) and secure, direct links to corporate servers, PCRoomLink allows businesspeople to recreate their office environment wherever they travel. By linking their business travelers through PCRoomLink, organizations can eliminate costly laptop purchases and support services.
Contact: Michael DiLeva, 1-877-341-0000 x4237, [email protected] Liz Elman, TBC, 212-792-4167, [email protected] http://www.pcroomlink.com Also See Paul R. Hager Heading Up PCRoomLink’s Introduction and Development Around the World / Oct 1999