Hoover's Goes Wireless

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hoover's Online Now Available Via Virtually Any Wireless Device


AUSTIN, Texas - March 28, 2001 - Hoover's, Inc. (Nasdaq: HOOV), a leading provider of online business information, tools, and content integration and syndication technology, today announced its Hoover's Wireless service, which allows people to tap into key content and service offerings away from their desks. Hoover's Online (www.hoovers.com), the businessperson's premier online information resource, is now available from anywhere, at any time and from virtually any wireless device, and is instantly customized to each wireless device's capabilities, taking into account browser type, protocol, markup language and screen size.

As part of an agreement between Hoover's and 2Roam, Inc. (www.2roam.com), an innovative wireless Web infrastructure provider, wireless device users can now search for and retrieve information on approximately 17,000 public and private enterprises worldwide via Hoover's Wireless. Users can search by company name or ticker symbol to find company descriptions, locations, financials, top officers, competitors, stock quotes and news from Hoover's Online. Hoover's Wireless will soon provide Hoover's 280,000 subscribers with access to premium, in-depth Hoover's Company Information. Hoover's Wireless launches with paid advertising positions, creating a new format for advertisers to reach businesspeople on the go.

"If you're a businessperson about to walk into an important meeting, you can use Hoover's Wireless to confirm a company's key officers, competitors, latest news, press releases and more - giving you a tremendous business advantage," said Jani Farlow Spede, senior vice president and publisher of Hoover's Online. "Our editors make hundreds of updates a day to our collection of information - so, whether you access it via a wired or wireless device, you are getting the most up-to-date business information online."

"The Hoover's Wireless initiative underscores our commitment to serve the growing number of mobile businesspeople around the world," added Hoover's CEO Patrick Spain. "Enhancing wireless capabilities is especially important for Hoover's as we continue to expand abroad, since such areas as Japan and Europe currently lead the U.S. in delivering data to mobile telephones."

According to high-tech market research firm Cahners In-Stat Group, wireless Internet access devices will, over the next several years, displace the PC as the #1 method of accessing information via the Internet. In-Stat also predicts the number of worldwide wireless data subscribers will grow from more than 174 million this year to greater than 1.3 billion by the end of 2004.

"The world of business changes fast and furiously, and Hoover's Online users need to stay ahead of the curve wherever they may be," said Tom Jackson, CEO of 2Roam. "2Roam helps Hoover's give its mobile users a competitive edge by delivering premier online business tools, services and information quickly and easily to almost any device being used."

Following earlier agreements with both AvantGo (Nasdaq: AVGO) and OmniSky (Nasdaq: OMNY), users of these services also gained access to Hoover's Online information and IPO Update newsletters via their mobile devices.

About Hoover's, Inc.


Hoover's, Inc. (Nasdaq: HOOV) provides online business information, tools, and content integration and syndication technology to help businesspeople get their jobs done. Hoover's information is available through its destination sites Hoover's Online (www.hoovers.com) and the company's other sites in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K., through syndication and co-branding agreements with more than 30 other online services, and through customized applications developed for enterprise information portals, corporate intranets and business-to-business vertical and content sites. Hoover's investors include AOL Time Warner (NYSE: AOL), Media General (AMEX: MEG.A), NBC -- a unit of General Electric (NYSE: GE), and Knowledge Universe, through its Knowledge Net Holdings and Nextera Enterprises (Nasdaq: NXRA) units. Hoover's is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and has offices in London, New York City and San Francisco.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release may contain forward-looking statements relating to future events or results that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the expected benefits of strategic relationships, future services and new products. Among the important factors which could cause actual results of Hoover's to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are the market demand and acceptance of new and enhanced services, the success of new features and tools from Hoover's Online, the retention of subscribers and customers, ability to attract new subscribers and customers, competition, economic conditions specific to the Internet, as well as general economic and market conditions and other factors described in Hoover's reports and documents filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its prospectus and recent 10-K and 10-Q filings.

Note to Media: Hoover's Wireless can be accessed via the Hoover's Online home page.

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Contacts

L Glass
Hoover's, Inc.
512-374-4500
lglass@hoovers.com