A three-way technology alliance has been forged that will bring Bluetooth technology to the next generation of digital imaging devices.
The alliance, announced today, brings together Extended Systems (Nasdaq:XTND), a leading provider of mobile data management and wireless connectivity solutions, FlashPoint Technology, the creator of the Digita(TM) operating system (OS) and the Photivity(TM) digital imaging platform, and Silicon Wave, a leader in Bluetooth radio solutions. Together, the three companies provide a complete Bluetooth solution for manufacturers, building on FlashPoint's industry-standard Digita OS, which has been built into over a half million digital imaging devices including Hewlett-Packard, Epson, Kodak, Minolta and Pentax.
To implement Bluetooth technology in a digital camera, manufacturers will use FlashPoint's Digita OS to develop applications that plug directly into Extended Systems' upper layer application protocol software, which implements the Bluetooth protocols needed to exchange information between handheld devices. Silicon Wave provides the Odyssey(TM) SiW1502 Radio Modem IC, as well as the baseband and link manager features. These combined technologies provide a Digita OS digital camera the capacity needed to make Bluetooth wireless connections with other Bluetooth-enabled cameras, PDAs, printers, mobile phones, photo kiosks, and PCs.
"Our technology alliance with FlashPoint and Silicon Wave supports our common goal to extend Bluetooth wireless connectivity to more and more users. Digital imaging has experienced extraordinary popularity and adding Bluetooth will only make it more powerful and convenient to use," explained Extended Systems CEO and president Steve Simpson.
"Our XTNDAccess(TM) Blue software development kit for handheld devices, has been qualified by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group for more user profiles than any other protocol stack on the market," continued Simpson. "This helps our OEM customers by further reducing development costs, shortening their time-to-market, and providing strict compliance to Bluetooth interoperability standards." User profiles qualified by the Bluetooth SIG include: General Access, Serial Port, Object Push, Dial-up Networking, LAN Access, FAX, Cordless Telephony, Headset, and Intercom.
"Qualification, interoperability and availability are key requirements for Bluetooth wireless technology to be widely adopted," said Silicon Wave CEO Dave Lyon. "We have collectively brought all of these together and demonstrated a versatile and simple way of sharing large graphic files from digital cameras."
"FlashPoint's Digita operating system has allowed digital cameras to become intelligent appliances. With the Digita OS and the Photivity wireless platform, FlashPoint is enabling new applications and customer solutions. Bluetooth is the next step as we create wireless, intelligent imaging appliances," said Stephen Saylor, president of FlashPoint. "Extended Systems and Silicon Wave each provides critical technology as we create the future of digital photography."
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