Connectix Announces Connectix Color QuickCam for Windows and Marketing and
Technology Agreement with America Online

Color digital video camera provides easy-to-use video solution for under
$200

SAN MATEO, CA, MAY 16, 1996 -- Connectix Corporation today announced Color
QuickCam for Windows with shipments planned for May 22. The Color QuickCam
for Windows is a 24-bit color digital video camera that plugs right into a
parallel port of a personal computer, requiring no additional hardware.
With an expected retail price of US$199 (after a $30 manufacturer rebate,
offer expires July 31, 1996), Color QuickCam is the most affordable color
digital video camera available.

Also today, Connectix announced a marketing and technology agreement with
America Online (AOL) to enable AOL users to communicate with still and
video images using QuickCam. America Online will make Connectix Color
QuickCams available for sale online in the AOL Store (Keyword: AOL Store),
and Connectix will integrate AOL email and other capabilities into Color
QuickCam software.

Color QuickCam retains the award winning design of the original grayscale
QuickCam and is just as easy to use. In less than five minutes, users can
install Color QuickCam and start taking brilliant color images in up to
640 x 480 pixels, with up to 24-bit color (millions of colors). Color
QuickCam incorporates several new features including a manually adjustable
focus lens, Auto Capture for live Web images, a self-timer mode and
proprietary compression technology that expand its usefulness on the
Internet, at work and at home. QuickCam also uses a pass-through keyboard
power adapter for power, providing portability and international
compatibility.

"Over a quarter million personal computer users are using Connectix
QuickCam today, making it the most popular computer camera by far," said
Tim Bajarin, President of Creative Strategies of San Jose, CA. "Connectix
has used its leadership position to respond to users' needs and enable the
use of still and video images for any computer user at a low cost for the
first time. Opening that capability up to AOL users is a big step in
making QuickCam a standard for communicating with images."

VIDEC Means Faster Frame Rates

Using Connectix Corp's proprietary VIDEC (Video Digitally Enhanced
Compression - patent pending) compression technology, Color QuickCam
compresses the video data at a 4 to 1 ratio with virtually no loss of
picture quality. VIDEC compression allows for even faster frame rates for
Color QuickCam than for the original grayscale QuickCam. As a result,
users get faster frame rates, larger frame sizes and significantly smaller
files to store on their hard drives. Typical Color QuickCam frame rates
with 16-bit color on a Pentium-class computer are:

    -- 160 x 120 pixels: over 24 fps
    -- 320 x 240 pixels: over 10 fps

Sharp Images From Under One Inch To Infinity

Color QuickCam uses a fast, f/1.6, 5.7mm manually focused lens that records
close-ups of objects as small as the serial numbers on a dollar bill or as
large as a conference room full of people. Color QuickCam's 48 degree
angle of view is especially well-suited for videoconferencing.

Optimized for Indoor Lighting Conditions

Combining its fast lens with sophisticated software, Color QuickCam adapts
to virtually any indoor lighting conditions at home or at work. The new
Auto Hue feature automatically adjusts Color QuickCam to get the most
natural colors possible in incandescent, fluorescent or natural lighting.
Auto Brightness adjusts for different amounts of light, but all camera
controls remain accessible to the user.

One Step Image Communication Using AOL

Connectix is a partner in the AOL Developers Studio, America Online's
third-party program enabling software and hardware companies to integrate
AOL and the Internet into their applications. Connectix engineers, working
closely with America Online, have developed one-click access for mailing
still QuickCam images to friends and family members using AOL. This add-on
module for QuickCam for Macintosh or Windows software will be made
available in the Connectix forum on AOL (Keyword: Connectix) for
downloading at no charge. Additional enhancements for image-enabling of
other AOL services are under development.

Thousands of Uses On the Net, At Home and At Work

A complete digital video solution, Color QuickCam includes all of the
software users need to get started using images. Included in every Color
QuickCam package are: QuickPICT, an application for capturing color still
images; QuickMovie, an application for recording color digital video
movies, and Microsoft Video for Windows runtime version.

Connectix QuickCam is already the most popular camera on the Web, and now
includes a new Auto-Capture feature to enable automatic updating of live
images to Web pages. Auto Capture can even be set to take pictures only at
certain times of day and days of the week. Home users will appreciate the
new Self Timer feature, which counts down a few extra seconds to allow
time to pose for the picture. Home computer users can also create
multimedia greeting cards to send to friends and relatives on disk or via
email using the free version of Connectix QuickCards Limited included with
Color QuickCam. "I had Color Quickcam installed in seconds and up and
running in a few minutes," said Brian Chiko, Color QuickCam beta tester
from Sacramento, CA. "It's intuitive, supports all the key video and image
standards, and integrates without a hitch with applications like Adobe
Photoshop."

Additional Software Applications for QuickCam Available Separately

Businesses and home office users alike can use Color QuickCam to video
conference using Connectix VideoPhone (ESP US$59-software only). "We built
VIDEC compression into QuickCam so videoconferencing software wouldn't
have to impose further demands on the computer to compress data, making it
easier to run Connectix Videophone on more computers," said Roy McDonald,
CEO of Connectix.

Since its introduction in 1994, Connectix QuickCam has become the most
popular digital video camera. QuickCam has already:

  -- Sold over 250,000 units
  -- Attracted over 1,000 developers who are building QuickCam-based
     solutions

Since introducing Color QuickCam for Macintosh last month, Connectix has
already booked more revenue than the entire first yearUs sales of the
grayscale QuickCam for Macintosh. "At this rate, we expect to double
QuickCam's installed base to over a half million customers by this
summer," said Don Pickens, Group Product Manager for Hardware at
Connectix.

US Pricing and Availability

Connectix Color QuickCam for Windows will become widely available over the
next several weeks at many popular retail and mail order outlets
throughout North America. Color QuickCam carries a suggested retail price
of $299 (US). Connectix estimates a US street price of $229 and offers a
$30 direct rebate to all purchasers through July 31, 1996. QuickCam comes
with a one year warranty and a 30-day money back guarantee.

Founded in 1988 and based in San Mateo, CA, Connectix Corporation designs,
manufactures, distributes and publishes award-winning personal computer
enhancement products. The company's flagship products include QuickCam,
RAM Doubler, Speed Doubler, and Connectix VideoPhone. For more
information, contact Connectix at 800.950.5880, 415.571.5100 or fax
415.571.5195. The company can be contacted at http://www.connectix.com
 
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