December 1, 2005

Dear Pepper Customers,

This letter is in response to Jim Louderback’s, “Ten to Avoid” list published in pcmag.com on November 22, 2005. 

First, he compares the Pepper Pad to the Audrey, Netpliance and NIC.  The life of these products was driven by the limitations of their day – the Internet was not ubiquitous, Broadband was not pervasive and Wi-Fi was not everywhere.

Second, he compares the Pepper Pad to a laptop.  The Pepper Pad does not aspire to be a Windows laptop.  It was designed to be a very low maintenance, instant-on, rugged device for accessing the Internet at home.  It was also designed around Mozilla Firefox, Macromedia Flash and Java to be secure.  The Pad does not require add-on virus protection or popup blockers.  The built-in Wi-Fi is a breeze to configure since you do not need to know if your access point uses a “hex”, “ASCII” or “password key”.  To use a Bluetooth device just scan and connect.  Plus, no sub $800 laptop offers a built-in infrared universal remote control.   

Third, he said, “the battery life is measured in minutes”. In reality, the battery lasts 2-3 hours depending on your activity, a fact that is mentioned in his magazine’s review - "We got about three hours of consistent use and two days of standby."

Fourth, the bright, 8.4 inch, 800 x 600 display with touch screen is one of our customers’ favorite Pepper Pad features.  According to our customers, Web pages, videos and photos look fantastic on the big screen.

Last but not least, he suggests you buy “a cheap tablet PC instead”. The least expensive TabletPC listed on pcmag.com is a Toshiba Satellite for $1216 and it weighs 6.1 lbs; there is a 1.8lb TabletPC called a Xybernaut Atigo T/HB and it costs $3620. The Pepper Pad, which weights 2.3 lbs and is less than an inch thick, is either less than half the weight or half the price or both of these products. 

Pepper is working on the next software upgrade that will be available in the first quarter of 2006.  The upgrade will include performance improvements and some new fun features that can be downloaded with one click for free. 

If you are looking for a new gadget for surfing the net, changing the channel and streaming video we think you’ll love a Pepper Pad!  But if you are looking for a computer to run business apps we recommend a Windows PC.

Please send me e-mail if you have any questions or comments about the Pepper Pad.

Sincerely,

Mary Ellen Heinen
President
me.heinen@pepper.com

10 Maguire Road, Lexington, MA 02421 – t: 1-781-862-2500 – f: 1-781-862-1145 – www.pepper.com