Business Editors
NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 23, 2002
"Mentor(TM) for Office XP" Will be Introduced to Thousands of
Toshiba Customers as Part of New Marketing Partnership
Mentor Communications Group, (www.trymentor.com), the world's most successful line of communications, learning and support applications with more than seven million licenses sold to corporate and home users worldwide, has entered into a marketing partnership with Toshiba America Inc. (OTC: TOSBF.PK).
Through this partnership, Toshiba will bundle Mentor(TM) for Office XP with select Toshiba Satellite Series laptop computers already bundling Microsoft Office XP. The laptops are available through selected Toshiba laptop distributors, including Ingram Micro, Tech Data, and CDW.
"Mentor(TM) for Office XP is a unique offering for Toshiba, one we anticipate will be very attractive to our Satellite Series customers," says Terry Cronin, Marketing and Business Planning Manager, Consumer Channel, Toshiba America Information Systems. "By combining Mentor with Microsoft Office XP we've created a unique and complete end-user solution, this adds real value to our overall product--which we believe will give us a real competitive advantage."
Mentor(TM) for Office XP, a $39.99 value, will help small business and home users understand and use key applications in Microsoft Office XP, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Internet Explorer. By offering a multimedia demonstration and explanation at the exact moment the user needs assistance, Mentor(TM) for Office XP offers immediate IT expertise to users who usually don't have access to software experts or a help desk.
Under the terms of the agreement Toshiba will promote the special Mentor offering through their substantial reseller channel, as well as to their business-to-business customers. Beginning immediately, Mentor(TM) for Office XP will be bundled with the following Toshiba Satellite laptop computers already installed with Microsoft Office XP: Satellite 1200 Series; Satellite Pro 6100, Satellite Pro 6000; Satellite 1400 Series; and Satellite 2400 Series.
"We're very excited about this partnership. Besides giving us the opportunity to partner with an industry leader, this will also increase Mentor's visibility in both the consumer and business markets," says Dan Gallo, CEO of Mentor. "Once Toshiba's customers experience our innovative way to master software - without taking a training course - they'll no doubt take advantage of our other products. It`s an excellent cross-marketing opportunity."
Mentor(TM) for Office XP is the fastest, most inexpensive way to master Microsoft's latest productivity software, without having to resort to expensive and time-consuming training. Mentor accelerates end user success with any software or technology. A Mentor is comprised of short, just-in-time multimedia demonstrations designed to answer questions on how to perform functions in Office XP, Windows XP, Windows 2000 and other leading applications. A Mentor can be added to any software application to motivate and instruct users and give them instant, multimedia explanations on how to perform any task.
Mentor makes users instantly successful with new software without a major time investment, without frustration and without taking any training. Consumer and small business users can now enjoy the same industry-leading learning and support applications as Fortune 500 companies worldwide, including IBM, GE Capital, Dupont, Cisco and DaimlerChrysler.
"Partnerships with leading hardware manufacturers such as Toshiba serve to maximize our exposure," says Gallo. "These alliances are an integral part of our core business strategy."
About Mentor Communications Group
Mentor Communications Group offers a true innovation in the e-learning product category. With over seven million licenses sold, its flagship solution, Mentor(TM) helps companies get more out of their technology by making users successful without training. For more information on Mentor and free demos, please go to: www.trymentor.com.
About Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc.
Toshiba Computer Systems Group is one of the world's leading vendors for portable computers. In addition to notebooks, the company offers portable and wireless accessories, PDAs, and server computing solutions for business customers under the Toshiba brand name. For more information call 1-800-TOSHIBA or visit the company's Web site at www.csd.toshiba.com.

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