Source: GeoworksGEOWORKS AND OPTIMAY JOIN FORCES TO DRIVE ENHANCED PHONES IN GSM MARKETS
Geoworks' Brings Premion Interface+, an Advanced MMI Solution, to Optimay's Reference Design for GSM Handsets
ALAMEDA, Calif./MUNICH, Germany (Jan. 20, 1998) - Geoworks Corporation (NASDAQ: GWRX), a leading provider of wireless software and service solutions, and Optimay GmbH, a subsidiary of Lucent Technologies (NYSE:LU), announced today that they have joined forces to help manufacturers to develop in record time enhanced GSM phones, which combine traditional wireless telephony with the ability to handle more complicated features such as data services, email or value-added applications. In the collaborative effort, Geoworks' Premion Interface+, a state-of-the-art graphical user interface (GUI) and over-the-air application platform based on the Wireless Application Protocol standard, has been integrated with Optimay's GSM Phase 2 Protocol Stack.
Together, Geoworks and Optimay will create a graphical phone reference design that offers manufacturers the technological foundation for building easy-to-use, enhanced phones for GSM networks around the globe. The bundled solution also offers handset manufacturers the ability to roll out industry-leading wireless handsets to market in record time.
Through Optimay, manufacturers will get a complete reference design solution with Protocol Stack software for the GSM network, enabling new manufacturers to enter the competitive GSM market quickly. Existing GSM manufacturers can quickly expand their product offerings. Optimay is one of the first companies to supply GSM software, which enables tier 2 and tier 3 manufacturers to achieve Phase 2 Full Type Approval.
"Optimay strives to provide complete solutions to our customers from hardware and GSM software to integrating third-party value-added technologies", said Sam W. Goodner, president and CEO of Optimay. "By joining forces with Geoworks, we are now also able to offer our customers an integrated solution for enhanced wireless handsets, which will enable our customers to have a broader selection of technology choices."
Geoworks' contribution is its Premion Interface+, which combines Man-Machine Interface (MMI) and WAP browser technology into a single package, eliminating the software redundancy that comes from having a separate WAP browser. The resulting software efficiency also makes the phone easier to use by eliminating the need for the special data mode found in existing smart phones. Premion Interface+ gives service providers greater branding and target marketing opportunities, provides manufacturers with the ability to develop product lines utilizing advanced functionality, and makes it easier for consumers to use their wireless phones.
"This collaboration between Lucent's Optimay and Geoworks opens exciting new avenues for OEMs with an eye on the enhanced phone market," said David Grannan, president and CEO of Geoworks. "The integration of Optimay's type-approved protocol stack and Geoworks' flexible interface sets new standards for product line design. Together, we are committed to making future technology available for GSM mobile phone manufacturers."
Grannan added, "Subscribers benefit, too. When you seamlessly blend WAP-based services into the phone's basic features to the point where users don't know if a feature is programmed in the phone or downloaded over-the-air, you eliminate a lot of user confusion."
According to the GSM MoU Association, GSM currently has over 120 million users worldwide and is available in 120 countries/areas of the world.
About Optimay
Optimay GmbH, a subsidiary of Lucent Technologies, is a leading developer of GSM software technology and provides uncompromising customer support in the development of a mobile phone from the basic concept through the complete realization. The Optimay GSM Phase 2 Protocol Stack provides handset manufacturers with one of the industry's fastest times-to-market. Advanced PC-based user interface tools allow MMI prototyping and development during hardware design, further facilitating fast time-to-market. Optimay has been supplying the GSM industry with software since 1990.Headquartered in Munich, Germany, Optimay is now also represented at a sales and support center in Huntington Beach, California. More detailed information on Optimay and its products can be found on its Web site at http://www.optimay.com.
About Geoworks
Based in Alameda, Calif., with international operations in the United Kingdom and Japan, Geoworks Corporation is a leading provider of end-to-end software solutions for the wireless communications industry. The company creates operating system software, applications and actionable services for a variety of wireless devices, ranging from enhanced phones to high-end, all-in-one smart communicators. For additional information on Geoworks, contact the Company 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 successful integration and acceptance of Geoworks' technology with Optimay's protocol stack and the emergence of the enhanced phone market. Actual results may vary significantly due to various risks and uncertainties. Those include, but are not limited to, the following: i) the enhanced phone 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 and new services 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.