OnStar and General Magic Agree To Provide Voice Enabled Services

10 November 1999

OnStar and General Magic Sign Agreement To Provide Voice Enabled Services in Vehicles

    TROY, Mich. and SUNNYVALE, Calif.--November 10, 1999--OnStar and General Magic today announced that OnStar has agreed to take an equity stake of approximately $15 million in General Magic, makers of the innovative magicTalk(TM) voice platform.
    OnStar has selected magicTalk as the voice user interface for the OnStar Virtual Advisor, which will provide hands-free, voice-activated access to web-based information services in vehicles. General Magic is expected to provide engineering, network hosting and consulting services to OnStar as part of the ongoing relationship.
    With the magicTalk core technology integrated into the OnStar Virtual Advisor, OnStar subscribers will be able to access personalized information such as e-mail, sports, weather, news and market headlines, all through easy-to-use voice interactions.
    "Our relationship with General Magic will allow us to launch our OnStar Virtual Advisor services faster, and better meet the needs of our rapidly expanding subscriber base," said Chet Huber, general manager of OnStar. "General Magic is the leader in technologies that allow people to use conversational language to interact with voice-enabled services. Subscribers won't have to memorize complex commands or become technology wizards to have web-based services delivered in their vehicles."
    "The OnStar service is already very popular with consumers, and we are delighted to partner with OnStar to provide customers with the convenience of voice-enabled access to web content and services," said Steve Markman. "We believe voice-based services like the OnStar Virtual Advisor represent an emerging new direction for consumer technology that will help people lead more productive and enjoyable lives."
    Pending regulatory review, the term of this agreement is three years, to begin in the fourth quarter 1999.
    OnStar, the innovative safety, security and information service, uses Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite technology and wireless communications to link drivers and vehicles to the 24-hour OnStar Center for real-time, personalized services.
    OnStar will be included on nearly one million General Motors vehicles by the end of 2000, dramatically increasing its subscriber base from the current level of nearly 100,000. For more information, see http://www.onstar.com
    General Magic offers voice-enabled services and technology that make communication and access to information easy and convenient. The company's innovative magicTalk voice interface lets people interact with information using their own words, as if they were talking to another person. For more information, visit http://www.generalmagic.com.

    General Magic notes that this press release contains forward-looking statements. There are risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary materially. These and other risk factors are detailed in General Magic's S-3, filed on October 29, 1999, with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    Note to Editors: General Magic and magicTalk are trademarks of General Magic, Inc., which may be registered in some jurisdictions.