Press Releases

ACCESS Announces Availability of NetFront™ v3.1 Internet Browser for Nokia Series 60  Smartphone Platform

Latest Version of Leading Mobile Browser Features Advanced Rendering Technologies That Significantly Increase Browsing Speed and Usability

Tokyo, Japan / Oberhausen, Germany – February 2, 2004 – ACCESS (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 4813), a global provider of mobile Internet technologies, today announced the immediate availability of its NetFront v3.1 browser software for Nokia Series 60 smartphones, which are based on the widely adopted Symbian operating system. NetFront v3.1 for Nokia Series 60 is available for purchase from Nokia’s Software Market (www.softwaremarket.nokia.com) and Handango (www.handango.com).

NetFront v3.1 for Series 60 is the latest version of the most widely deployed and actively used embedded browser in the world. NetFront v3.1 for Nokia Series 60 is fast and provides more features than any other browser currently available in the smartphone market. NetFront offers comprehensive support for the latest Internet standards, allowing Nokia Series 60 users to quickly and seamlessly browse and interact with standard Internet pages through their mobile phones.

NetFront v3.1 for Nokia Series 60 provides advanced technologies like Smart-Fit Rendering^™, a sophisticated technology that intelligently renders Web pages to fit handset screen widths, eliminating the need for horizontal scrolling. NetFront also includes Rapid-Render^™, a new technology that significantly speeds the rendering of Web pages on mobile devices. Rapid-Render affirms NetFront’s position as the most advanced browser in the smartphone market. In addition, NetFront v3.1 for Nokia Series 60 provides support for user defined shortcuts, configurable caching options, customizable style sheets and downloading of images and files.

Nomura is forecasting that the smartphone market will reach 128 million devices by 2007, with Symbian-based smartphones accounting for 51 million of the total. Symbian is currently the most popular OS in the smartphone market with 60% market share and nearly 4 million devices shipped in the first three quarters of 2003. (Data from Symbian.) NetFront’s support for the Symbian-based Nokia Series 60 platform positions ACCESS to expand NetFront’s already significant global reach.

“The ability to easily browse Web pages is a perfect complement to the advanced functionality of today’s Series 60 phones,” said Toru Arakawa, president and CEO of ACCESS. “NetFront is the most advanced and intuitive browser solution available today for Series 60 users. We look forward to continued efforts providing solutions for Nokia’s Symbian-based handsets.”

NetFront v3.1 for Series 60 (English version only) distribution

Compatible Handsets:
Nokia 7650 / 3650 / 3660 / 6600 / Nokia N-Gage / Siemens SX1 / Sendo X

Purchase Site:
Nokia Software Market (www.softwaremarket.nokia.com)

Purchase Price:
9.90 Euro introductory price (24.80 Euro standard)

A fully functional demo version (45 days usage limitation) is available at: www.access-netfront.com.

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. In addition to Windows Mobile 2003, NetFront supports a wider range of operating systems than any competing browser including solutions for Palm^® OS, Symbian OS, Linux OS. and mobile handset environments like BREW^™. ACCESS’ NetFront has been deployed in over 254 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 254 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. More information is available at www.access.co.jp/english/ or www.access-sys-eu.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. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners..

Contacts