Source: GeoworksGEOWORKS LICENSES JAVA TECHNOLOGY FOR GEOS SYSTEM SOFTWARE
Open platform will enable customized smart phone solutions, help Geoworks further develop global smart phone market
ALAMEDA, Calif. (April 1, 1997) - Geoworks (NASDAQ: GWRX), a leading provider of smart phone software solutions, today announced it will license Java(TM) technology from JavaSoft, a business unit of Sun Microsystems, Inc. Under the agreement, Java will be ported to Geoworks' GEOS operating system platform, enabling developers to build applications for GEOS-based smart phones using the defacto industry-standard Java language.
This licensing agreement enables Geoworks to dramatically expand the web-based functionality of GEOS-based smart phones by enabling the company to deliver Java-compatible solutions. This will enable Java developers to extend the functionality of GEOS-based smart phones by developing new and existing Java applications for wireless handsets.
"Because smart phones are designed to heavily utilize the Internet as well as corporate intranets, we strongly believe Java will become a key enabling technology for these devices," said Chris Noble, vice president, Business Development at Geoworks. "Our licensing of Java technology, therefore, marks a critical milestone for Geoworks as we continue working with key industry participants to grow the smart phone market."
"JavaSoft believes smart phones represent a fast-growing, and potentially significant new market," said David Spenhoff, director of product marketing at JavaSoft, a business unit of Sun Microsystems, Inc. "Geoworks is currently working with handset manufacturers to co-develop smart phones for major markets around the world."
GEOS is currently the operating system for the award-winning Nokia 9000 Communicator and Toshiba's Genio PCV Pocket Communicator, and has also been licensed by handset manufacturers NEC and Ericsson.
Java, developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc., is the defacto standard platform for network computing used for creating applets and applications for the Internet, intranets and any other complex, distributed network.
Incorporating Java into the GEOS operating system will enable Geoworks to offer open, extensible smart phones. This would allow corporate IS managers, for example, to build custom applications enabling a company's sales team to use smart phone handsets to access real-time product information while on the road.
Smart phones integrate voice with additional communications features such as e-mail, paging, facsimile, and Internet access to online information and services. In total, the worldwide market for smart phones is expected to reach $2 billion by the year 2000, according to research firm Mobile Insights, with the U.S. market expected to rapidly develop in 1997 as digital-cellular networks are launched and smart phones become available.
About Geoworks
Based in Alameda, California, Geoworks is a leading software provider for the cellular industry and manufacturers of mobile communicating devices, including smart phones. The company has licensed its GEOS operating system to leading manufacturers such as Nokia, Ericsson, NEC, Toshiba Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Company, Brother International Corp. and Canon Business Machines. In addition, the company intends to work with content and services providers, and international cellular operators. For additional information on Geoworks and the GEOS operating system, contact Geoworks on the World Wide Web at http://www.geoworks.com.In keeping with U.S. law, Geoworks notes that this press release includes forward-looking statements, including the Company's intention to license certain technologies, third party estimates concerning market growth, the establishment of key partnerships, and the timing and availability of porting technologies to the GEOS platform. Actual results may vary significantly due to various risks and uncertainties. Those include, but are not limited to, the following: i) the smart communicator market and third-party application market may not emerge to the degree or in the timing anticipated; ii) the Company must consummate definitive agreements with key partners; and iii) new technologies are inherently subject to development, timing and consumer acceptance risks. Additional information is available in the Risk Factors and Business discussions in the Company's Forms 10-K, 10-Q and other filings available from the Company or from the Securities and Exchange Commission.