FRANKLIN ELECTRONIC PUBLISHERS BRINGS THE OFFICIAL SCRABBLE® PLAYERS DICTIONARY TO AN ELECTRONIC HANDHELD. Brought back by popular demand, Franklin produces a solution to end all SCRABBLE disputes.

Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc., the world leader in handheld electronic gadgets to produce a new handheld version of Merriam-Websters Official SCRABBLE Players Dictionary® for the United States and Canadian markets.

BURLINGTON, NJ (PRWEB) August 28, 2003 -- Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. (AMEX:FEP), the world leader in handheld information, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Hasbro Consumer Products Worldwide, the licensing and promotions arm of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), to produce a new handheld version of Merriam-Websters Official SCRABBLE Players Dictionary® for the United States and Canadian markets.

Several years ago, the Franklin handheld edition of the SCRABBLE dictionary was very popular among SCRABBLE players. Over time, the lexicon of SCRABBLE words was updated several times, while players who enjoyed the convenience of the handheld dictionary sought an update for the handheld version. At the request of numerous players, the National SCRABBLE Association (NSA) petitioned Franklin last year to bring back its electronic reference. The NSA is the Official SCRABBLE players organization in the United States and Canada. The group sanctions more than 200 local SCRABBLE tournaments every year throughout the United States and Canada, hosts the National SCRABBLE Championship, and organizes other activities such as the School SCRABBLE Program.

John Williams, Executive Director-of the NSA, said This is the greatest news we could have for the SCRABBLE community. The NSA is happy to be a part of bringing this authoritative and incredibly easy-to-use necessity back into the SCRABBLE world. "

According to Hasbro, the SCRABBLE board game can be found in one of every three households in America. Since its introduction in 1948, more than 100 million SCRABBLE games have been sold worldwide.

While considering re-launching of our Franklin reference as we saw the Scrabble competition scene growing in the United States and Canada, we received a petition from the NSA which just reinforced the conclusions of our own research. We feel we have a real winner with our new version of this patented product," explained Barry J. Lipsky, President and CEO, Franklin Electronic Publishers. The look and form factor of this newest SCRABBLE Dictionary is turning heads; even the keys look like SCRABBLE tiles with the point value on each key. SCRABBLE is enjoyed by millions of Americans everyday. Our goal was to produce a convenient and unique device that will not only validate a word, but also help players build SCRABBLE skills".

Franklin has captured the essence of the SCRABBLE brand," said Tom Klusaritz, Vice President of Publishing for Hasbro Consumer Products. Whether you are a novice or a national champion, the Franklin handheld version of the SCRABBLE Players dictionary is the perfect quick word reference."

Franklins Official SCRABBLE Dictionary, SCR-226 will initially be sold through the NSA beginning this summer and will be available at select retailers and finer catalogs in time for the gift giving holiday season.

The Official SCRABBLE® Players Dictionary

This helpful device will be invaluable to players at all levels, who want to master the SCRABBLE game. It can solve disputes by instantly validating over 100,000 words and providing brief definitions. This patented device includes easy to use features which enhance SCRABBLE playing skills. It builds vocabulary by creating words from letter tiles and finding words from the letter pattern on the board. It provides solutions ranked by score. It adds fun with three challenging word games. And it offers easy-to-read large type, on-screen help, automatic shut-off and adjustable contrast control.

About Franklin

Franklin Electronic Publishers (AMEX:FEP) is the worldwide leader in handheld information, having sold more than 29,000,000 electronic books. Current titles available directly or through partners number more than 8,000 in sixteen languages under license from world class publishers, such as Merriam-Webster and HarperCollins, focused in five genres: Learning, Language Learning, Travel, Spiritual, and Leisure. The Company also licenses its underlying technology to an array of partners including Adobe, Ademco (a division of Honeywell), Macromedia, and Mobile Digital Media (formerly a division of Palm). Franklin distributes ROLODEX® Electronics branded organizers worldwide and SEIKO® branded reference products in North and South America. Products are available at 45,000 retail outlets worldwide, through catalogs, and online at http://www.franklin.com. International sales are concentrated in Europe, Canada, Australia, and Mexico.

ROLODEX® is a registered trademark of Berol Corporation, a subsidiary of Newell Rubbermaid Inc.

About Hasbro

Hasbro Consumer Products Worldwide is the licensing and promotions arm of the Hasbro Properties Group, which develops and expands Hasbro, Inc.s (NYSE:HAS) core brands, such as G.I. JOE, TRANSFORMERS, MY LITTLE PONY, MONOPOLY and CANDY LAND, into a wide variety of entertainment and consumer categories.
SCRABBLE is a trademark of Hasbro in the United States and Canada and is used with permission.