News Release
VIA Telecom Licenses Extended Systems' Infrared Technology
for Next Generation CDMA Connectivity Applications
Extended Systems' software development kit enables
short-range wireless connectivity technologies for current
and future 3G applications such as Internet access and
point-of-sales utilities
San Diego, California, 3 December 2003 - VIA Telecom,
Inc, a leading innovator and developer of CDMA chipsets,
today announced that it has licensed the infrared software
development kit (SDK) of Extended Systems (Nasdaq: XTND),
a leading provider of mobile application solutions for
the enterprise, for use in next-generation CDMA chipsets.
This license enables mobile handset manufacturer customers
to add infrared communications capabilities using the
Infrared Data Association (IrDA) specification to their
product line-up.
While current applications for infrared technology
in handsets include Internet connectivity and exchanging
and updating contacts with laptops and PDAs, and printing
through enabled printers, infrared supporting mobile
handsets are increasingly being used for more sophisticated
applications such as point-of-sales purchase payments,
with the shorter range of infrared transmission deterring
fraud while enabling seamless convenient payment. Already
commercially launched in South Korea, infrared POS systems
are being tested in Japan and the US, and look set to
drive greater functionality in mobile phones.
As part of the agreement, VIA Telecom also licensed
the Extended Systems' OBEX (Object Exchange) transport
protocol, providing the ability to beam files over infrared.
OBEX is the underlying protocol that enables both IrFM
(Infrared Financial Messaging) and SyncML. This provides
VIA Telecom customers with a clear development path
to implementing IrFM or SyncML capabilities into their
handsets as those applications become more widely used.
"I have worked with Extended Systems' embedded
protocol stacks in the past, and I know, from first-hand
experience, the product's excellent architecture, small
code footprint, portability and reliability," said
Doug Brown, program manager for VIA Telecom. "With
Extended Systems' software, we can be sure that we are
implementing the best-supported IrDA stack on the market
and that our customers will have a superior IrDA transport
on which to build applications now and in the future."
David Hofacker, business unit manager of Extended Systems'
Universal Mobile Connectivity group, says that Extended
Systems has had a great deal of success with chipmakers
because the company has become known in the industry
as a one-stop SDK shop. "The ability to obtain
multiple protocol stacks from one vendor was especially
compelling for VIA Telecom, as it provides complete
flexibility for their customers to add infrared technologies
to their product line-up."
About Extended Systems' Software Development Kits
Extended Systems provides Bluetooth, IrDA and SyncML
software development kits that enable hardware manufacturers
to reduce development costs and shorten time-to-market.
Extended Systems' SDKs offer small memory footprint,
low MIPs requirements and easy portability. The company
has more than 400 design wins including Palm, Motorola,
HP, 3Com, Fujitsu, NEC, Mitsubishi, and Visteon.
About Extended Systems
Extended Systems provides the expertise, strategy
and solutions to help enterprise organizations streamline
their business processes through mobile technology.
The company's mobile software suite enables companies
to mobilize critical enterprise applications such as
e-mail, field service, sales force automation (SFA),
enterprise resource planning (ERP), and customer relationship
management (CRM). In addition, the company offers Bluetooth
and IrDA wireless connectivity software and client/server
database management systems. Extended Systems has more
than 2,500 enterprise customers worldwide; and key alliance
relationships with Ericsson, Handspring, HP, IBM, Microsoft,
Motorola, Nokia, Palm, Sharp, Siemens and Toshiba.
Founded in 1984, Extended Systems has offices and subsidiaries
in the United States and worldwide. For more information,
visit the company Web site at www.extendedsystems.com.
About VIA Telecom, Inc.
VIA Telecom is a leading innovator and developer of
Baseband Processors for 3G CDMA2000 mobile applications
used in a wide range of 3G devices spanning voice, data,
and GPS-enabled applications. Headquartered in San Diego,
California, VIA Telecom has design centers in San Diego
and Fremont, California, and Hangzhou, China, and sales
offices in the US, Taiwan, China, and Korea. For additional
information, please visit the website at
www.via-telecom.com or send an e-mail to marketing@via-telecom.com.
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