Press Releases

ACCESS NetFront™ Delivers Faster Mobile Internet Experience with New Rapid-Render™ Technology

NetFront Leads Mobile Browser Industry with Introduction of Most Advanced Rendering Technology

Tokyo,Japan / Fremont, Calif., USA, – February 4, 2004 – ACCESS (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 4813), a global provider of mobile content delivery and access technologies, today announced that it has introduced a new technology called Rapid-Render^™, which dramatically increases the speed of Web page presentation on mobile Internet devices. ACCESS’ NetFront, already the most widely deployed and actively used embedded Web browser in the world, is now the industry’s first to include this advanced rendering technology.

Rapid-Render is a patent-pending rendering technology that progressively renders and displays Web page content, significantly accelerating the presentation, discovery, and interaction opportunities for mobile Internet users. With Rapid-Render, NetFront download speeds are up to six times faster than previous versions of NetFront. Rapid-Render eases end-user wait and frustration, while increasing the functionality of the mobile Internet browsing experience.

“ACCESS has become a global leader in the mobile Internet market through constant innovation and attention to end-user concerns. Our technologies have helped make DoCoMo’s i-mode service practically indispensable in Japan, and now our NetFront browser technology can be found in mobile phones, PDAs, gaming consoles, telematics systems and other devices from major manufacturers and operators around the globe.” said Toru Arakawa, president and CEO of ACCESS. “Rapid-Render is the kind of break-through advance that will help push adoption and increase the popularity of mobile Internet browsing by dramatically enhancing the end-user experience. It’s a significant next step in fulfilling our vision of a ubiquitous Internet.”

ACCESS’ NetFront 3.1 supports a wide range of operating systems including Palm^® OS, Symbian OS, Linux OS, Windows Mobile^™ and mobile programming environments like BREW^™. NetFront also boasts ACCESS’ unique Smart-Fit Rendering^™ technology, which intelligently renders Web pages to fit the narrow screen widths of mobile devices while eliminating the need for horizontal scrolling. The combination of Rapid-Render and Smart-Fit Rendering allows NetFront to deliver the most sophisticated, efficient, and productive mobile Internet browsing experience available on the market today.

Rapid-Render works by displaying Web page content in progressive stages. First, text and hyperlinks are presented so the user can immediately read relevant information or navigate the page. Next, graphics, tables and other s creen elements are displayed. Last, the page is formatted using ACCESS’ Smart-Fit Rendering^™technology.

Rapid-Render is available immediately for Symbian Series 60 smartphone handsets. (See related press release issued today: “ACCESS Announces Availability of NetFront v3.1 Internet Browser for Nokia Series 60 Smartphone Platform”.) Support for additional operating systems and devices will be added on an ongoing basis.

About NetFront
NetFront v3.1 is the latest version of the most widely deployed and actively used embedded Web browser in the world. NetFront recently surpassed 100 million deployments globally and was selected as a “Best Software Awards 2003” finalist by Pocket PC Magazine. NetFront supports a wider range of operating systems than any competing browser including solutions for Palm^® OS, Symbian OS, Linux OS, Windows Mobile/Pocket PC and mobile handset environments like BREW^™. ACCESS’ NetFront has been deployed in over 267 unique devices ranging from mobile phones and PDAs to digital televisions, gaming consoles, and automobile telematics systems from 90 major Internet device manufacturers. NetFront browser technology is included in Internet solutions from many of the world’s leading mobile operators, software providers and electronics manufacturers including Adobe, Alpine, AT&T Wireless, China Mobile, China Unicom, Handspring, Hutchinson 3G Group, IBM, KDDI, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, PalmSource, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, Sony and more.

About ACCESS
ACCESS Co. Ltd. (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 4813) is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and has subsidiaries in Fremont, California, Oberhausen, Germany, and 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 267 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 micro browser is most widely deployed in phones for NTT DoCoMo’s popular i-mode^® service. To date, over 100 million ACCESS software licenses have shipped from more than 90 major Internet device manufactures (As of Sept, 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/ or www.access-us-inc.com.

ACCESS is a registered trademark in Japan. NetFront is registered trademark of ACCESS Co., Ltd. in Japan. i-mode is a registered trademark of NTT DoCoMo, Inc.

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