GVC LICENSES PHONE.COM UP.BROWSER MICROBROWSER FOR MOBILE PHONES IN ASIA AND EUROPE

Taiwanese Manufacturer to Debut WAP-Compatible GSM Phones in Europe and Asia — Including Taiwan and China

Phone.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:PHCM), a leading provider of mobile Internet software and services, today announced that GVC Co. of Taiwan has licensed the Phone.com UP.Browser™ for use in new GVC Internet-enabled mobile telephones for Asian and European Markets. Under the terms of the agreement, GVC will incorporate the WAP-compatible UP.Browser™ microbrowser into its line of GSM handsets.

By adding Internet-enabled mobile phones to its product portfolio, GVC anticipates its GSM phones will be more marketable to both consumers and other handset manufacturers. In Taiwan, GVC sells and markets its handsets under it's the GVC brand name, while in other Asian and European markets GVC is positioned as a leading original equipment manufacturer (OEM).

"By licensing the Phone.com UP.Browser, GVC is able to quickly enter the wireless Internet market," said Paul Wang, Vice President of GVC Wireless Communications. "We believe that by incorporating Phone.com's WAP-compatible microbrowser into our GSM phones, our phone product line will be more competitive and appealing to our customers. Phone.com has proven that is the worldwide leader in microbrowser technology, across all mobile standards. Given their commitment to the WAP standard, they were the logical choice for GVC."

"By licensing the Phone.com microbrowser, GVC joins a growing list of companies, including most of the other leading mobile phone manufacturers around the world, that integrate our UP.Browser microbrowser into their mobile phones," said Ben Linder, vice president of marketing of Phone.com. "With its manufacturing facilities in China and a growing brand awareness in Taiwan, GVC is another prominent manufacturer to join forces with Phone.com to provide cutting edge wireless Internet-ready mobile phones. Taiwan and other Asian countries are key markets for both our companies to demonstrate our commitment to delivering wireless users with premium WAP-compatible products."

GVC joins a list of more than 25 wireless phone manufacturers in North America, Europe, and Asia with a license to employ the Phone.com UP.Browser. The UP.Browser is currently being ported to over 70 distinct phone models for all major digital standards, including CDMA, GSM, PDC, PHS, iDEN and TDMA. The WAP-compatible UP.Browser will enable GVC's GSM mobile users to wirelessly access and interact with the Internet and Intranet through wireless carriers who have licensed the Phone.com, UP.Link™ Server Suite.

Phone.com's UP.Browser software is a WAP-compatible micro-browser that is designed and optimized for mass-market wireless telephones. Using UP.Browser, wireless subscribers can access Web-based information and services that are hosted on network operators' or third-party Web servers. Due to its open and highly portable architecture, UP.Browser can be embedded into different types of wireless telephones and utilize each mobile phone's specific display and input characteristics, such as graphical displays and programmable keys. UP.Browser, combined with each phone's existing user interface software, gives network operators a way to reach subscribers and add innovative services, with seamless integration of voice and data services.

Phone.com provides handset manufacturers with core and interface modules, which they adapt to existing phone models, greatly reducing their R&D investment. Handset manufacturers can optimize the integration of UP.Browser into their wireless handsets with the technical assistance, documentation and tools of Phone.com's OEM support organization.


[ Home | Contact | MobiChat | Experts database | Let's do it ]

Comments to the content of this page can be posted on the MobiChat discussion group

logo.gif (1569 bytes)