Press Releases

ACCESS Announces IrFront™ v2.1

Latest Version of Infrared Communications Protocol Stack Delivers Maximum Speed of 4 Mbps

TOKYO, Japan – September 29, 2005 – ACCESS Co., Ltd., (Tokyo Stock Exchange:4813), a global provider of mobile content delivery and Internet access technologies, today announced IrFront^™v2.1, the latest version of its IrDA’s infrared communications protocol stack. IrFront v2.1 will speed up conventional infrared communications by 4 to 10 times, and will be able to handle large volumes of mobile phone data. A 4-Mbps version of IrFront will be released in October of this year. A version supporting the IrSimple* international protocol for high-speed infrared communications will be available in January 2006.

“This new version of IrFront delivers infrared communications at high-speed and high-volume data rates. High-speed infrared solutions like IrFront will enable new lifestyle possibilities in the future based on the linkage and exchange of information among all devices in networks,” said Toru Arakawa, president and CEO of ACCESS.

IrFront is a compact infrared communications protocol stack for mobile phones and embedded devices. Developed by ACCESS, IrFront conforms to IrDA* infrared communications protocol specifications. In addition to IrCOMM and IrTran-P standard support, IrFront offers IrFM for infrared accounts settlements and a wide array of OBEX and other options such as IrMC, which allows exchange of address books, email, and other data. To date, IrFront has been used in the handsets of at least six mobile handset makers, including mobile phones supporting NTT DoCoMo’s i-mode service. IrFront has also been deployed in numerous printers, including mobile phone printers offered by Fujifilm Co., Ltd. IrFront can also connect to the Internet using the infrared functions of non-networked devices.

IrFront v2.1 was developed primarily to support IrSimple, an international protocol that uses infrared technology to achieve high-speed communication and to reduce customers’ development costs by using simple and standardized modules. IrSimple enables the near instantaneous transfer of still and video images from mobile phones to TV’s and printers.

IrFront v2.1 was tested on a SIR/FIR controller (BU92002GU and BU92004GU) from Kyoto-based Rohm Co., Ltd. IrFront v2.1 runs on these standard chips and provides an interface that reduces the burden on the CPU and enables the exchange of large volumes of data.

IrFront v2.1 Key Features

• Platform independence: IrFront v2.1 provides standardized programming from 9600 bps to 4 Mbps. This reduces customers’ driver development costs. Developing a driver ensures that IrFront v2.1 can run on any platform
• Simple Application Program Interface (API): Because the IrFront v2.1’s API is so simple, the IrDA is undetectable. By deploying a vParser, vCard, vCalendar, and other types of data sent from a mobile phone can be obtained simply by calling the API
• Support for Symbian OS and BREW^®: IrFront v2.1 supports both the Symbian and BREW platforms

• IrDA and IrSimple
  IrDA (Infrared Data Association) is an industry organization established in 1993 to prepare technical standards for near-distance data communications using infrared. IrDA is also the infrared communications protocol set by the organization. IrSimple is a protocol that achieves faster data transmission speeds by simply reviewing the IrDA protocol without changing the IrDA device. It is realized as an additional set of specifications to the IrDA protocol. ACCESS is an official member of IrDA and the Mobile Computing Promotion Consortium (MCPC).

About ACCESS
ACCESS is a global provider of Internet technologies to the mobile and beyond-PC markets. Its NetFront^™browser, widely recognized as one of the most advanced Internet browsers in the world, is a cornerstone to the company’s vision of enabling Internet access anywhere and on any device. NetFront technologies are delivering full Internet browsing and related services to next-generation mobile devices and consumer electronics ranging from digital TV to automobile telematics. For more information: www.access.co.jp or www.access-us-inc.com.

About ROHM
ROHM was founded in 1958 in Kyoto, Japan, and has been engaged in the development, manufacturing and sales of LSI and many other semiconductors. With respect to the area of mobile phones, ROHM has a high reputation for the wide range of the product lineup such as baseband LSIs, system power LSIs and sound processors. In addition, ROHM provides equipments of high quality for home information appliances, which includes chipsets for optical storages, digital still cameras, printers and flat TVs, through its overseas bases. As of 31st March 2005, the company has a total staff strength of 19,803 employees worldwide, and its consolidated net sales had reached 3,69 billion Yen in March 2005.

ACCESS and NetFront are trademarks or registered trademarks of ACCESS CO., LTD. in Japan and other countries. i-mode is a trademark or registered trademark of NTT DoCoMo, Inc. in Japan and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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