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2003.07.10

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ACCESS Announces NetFront® v3.1 SDK for Linux

Supports MontaVista Linux®, Qt/Embedded and Qtopia

Tokyo, Japan – July 10, 2003 – ACCESS (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 4813), a global provider of mobile content delivery and access technologies for information appliances, announced the launch of NetFrontv3.1 SDK for Linux, a Linux version of the software development kit for the latest version of its NetFront browser for information appliances.

NetFront v3.1 SDK for Linux supports MontaVista Linux and MontaVista Graphics/GTK+ from MontaVista Software, Inc., QT/Embedded, and Qtopia from Trolltech AG as a GUI environment. The MontaVista Linux version will be supported by NetFront Professional Edition v3.0 and Consumer Electronics Edition v3.0. A beta release will be shipped in September, followed by general availability in October (both Japanese and English edition).

NetFront v3.1 SDK for Linux will be demonstrated at both the ACCESS and MontaVista Software Japan booths at the Embedded Systems Expo & Conference in Tokyo 2003, (Tokyo Big Site 7/9 – 7/11).

“We are pleased that NetFront SDK for Linux will officially support MontaVista Linux,” said Sheila Baker, vice president, Marketing, MontaVista Software. “Embedded Linux has entered the commercial mainstream and is especially gaining traction in one of our key target markets – consumer electronics. ACCESS, a leading provider of browsers for non-PC devices, is an important MontaVista partner and we will jointly promote Linux-based development of advanced consumer devices such as mobile phones, digital TVs and automotive telematics systems.”

“The combination of NetFront and Qtopia has successfully been used on several of Sharp’s Zaurus SL series (SL-A300, SL-B500, SL-C700/750/760),” said Haavard Nord, Trolltech CEO. “Qtopia provides manufacturers with a robust set of PIM and productivity applications plus a powerful user interface, while NetFront provides seamless integration into Qtopia, including the look and feel. The combination of these two products gives device manufacturers a flexible software platform for creating Linux devices.”

ACCESS president and CEO, Mr. Toru Arakawa stated: “We are pleased to offer a Linux SDK kit for the latest version of our browser. Linux is increasingly generating great interest in the developer community and infrastructure market. Today the Linux platform is being adopted in consumer electronics devices. We are pursuing its integration with information appliances together with partners such as MontaVista and Trolltech.”

NetFront v3.1 SDK for Linux – packages and features
NetFront v3.1 SDK for Linux is a development kit that allows users to port and customize the NetFront browser for Linux-based embedded and consumer appliances within a short development time. NetFront’s abstract window system API ‘AWS’ enables NetFront browser features on Linux window systems including X Window System or QT/Embedded. In addition, users can customize user interfaces and develop browser applications with popular Linux development tools such as Glade, GTK+, and Qtopia.

NetFront v3.1 Standard Profile SDK for Linux

Packages
Linux/GTK+ package
Linux/QtE package
Linux/Qtopia package

Verified Environment

Distribution
MontaVista Linux Professional Edition v3.0
MontaVista Linux Consumer Electronics Edition v3.0 (planned)
Red Hat 7.2, 7.3, 8.0, 9

Window System/ToolKit
MontaVista Graphics/GTK+
XFree86 / GTK+ 1.2.10
Qt /E v2.3
Qtopia v1.6

Processor
x86
IBM PowerPC 405LP (planned)
Compiled module with user-specified compiler is prepared on request.

Plug in options (planned)
A wide variety of plug in options are to be provided by ACCESS through partner alliances.

Macromedia Flash 6
Used by almost 100% of PC Internet users, Flash is the de facto standard for 2D graphic players. With this plug-in, information appliances will be empowered to provide a wide variety of interactive content.

RealNetworks Helix DNA Client
A digital content streaming player that supports multiple data format, including RealAudio, RealVideo, MP3, MPEG4 and SMIL.

This plug-in supports both Internet content viewing and digital streaming content delivery services available for appliances such as broadband handsets and digital TVs.

Adobe® Reader for NetFront
Based on Adobe Reader 6, Adobe and ACCESS jointly developed PDF Reader for non-PC appliances. This plug-in will allow viewing of more than 20 million PDF files. Maps, weather charts, news articles, electronic books and other PDF content will be viewable on PDAs or mobile phones with zoom-in and zoom-out capability.

Price: Development license from US$50,000/5 users/project

Run-time license required for commercial reproduction.

About ACCESS
ACCESS Co. Ltd. (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 4813) is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, with ACCESS Systems America, Inc., its US subsidiary, in Fremont, California, ACCESS Systems Europe GmbH, its German subsidiary, in Oberhausen, Germany, and with ACCESS (Beijing) Co., Ltd, its Chinese subsidiary, in Beijing, China. ACCESS is a global provider of mobile content delivery and access technologies for information appliances. ACCESS’ embedded NetFront® and Compact NetFront® browsers power 244 different commercial products worldwide including mobile phones, digital televisions, set-top boxes, game consoles, PDAs, car navigation systems, web phones, kiosk terminals and intranet terminals. ACCESS’ Compact NetFront microbrowser is most widely deployed in phones for NTT DoCoMo’s popular i-modeTM service. To date, over 92 million ACCESS software licenses have shipped from more than 80 major Internet device manufactures (As of May, 2003). ACCESS was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers market on February 26, 2001. More information is available at www.access.co.jp/english/


ACCESS is a registered trademark in Japan. NetFront is registered trademark of ACCESS Co., Ltd. in Japan. NetFront is a registered trademark of NetFront Communications, Inc. in the United States and is used under license. MontaVista and MontaVista Linux are registered trademarks of MontaVista Software, Inc.i-mode is a registered trademark of NTT DoCoMo, Inc. Macromedia, the Macromedia logo, and Macromedia Flash are trademarks or registered trademarks of Macromedia, Inc., which may be registered in the United States and internationally. RealNetworks, Helix, RealAudio, and RealVideo are trademarks or registered trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc. Adobe, the Adobe logo and Reader are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries..All other companies or products listed herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Contacts

Asia Contact:
ACCESS Co., Ltd., Japan
Kazunori Takahashi
81 (3) 5259-3685
prinfo@access.co.jpcom
Europe Contact:
ACCESS Systems Europe GmbH
Claudia Hoeck
49 (208) 8290-6432
hoeck@access-sys-eu.com
China Contact:
ACCESS China Inc.
Delia Liu
86 (10) 6566-9636
delia_cn@access.co.jp
US Contacts:
ACCESS Systems America
Manuel Morales
(510) 284-0708
mmorales@access-us-inc.com
Bite Communications Anne-miek Hamelinck
(415) 614-3622
annemiek@bitepr.com