TEGIC COMMUNICATIONS UNVEILS SOFTWARE APPLICATION FRAMEWORK FOR MOBILE INDUSTRY VALUE CHAIN
Haier America to Partner with Tegic to Implement "SmartScreens" Technology for New Connected Media Player
LAS VEGAS, NV — January 8, 2007 — At the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Tegic Communications, an AOL company, showcased its new open software application framework to enable compelling consumer experiences for a broad range of wirelessly connected devices. Tegic, a leading provider of embedded software for mobile data services, unveiled the technology for the mobile industry value chain, which includes content providers, service providers, network access providers and device manufacturers, as a new solution designed to help speed the delivery of more customized and content-oriented mobile products for consumers.
The software application framework, developed under the codename "SmartScreens," is open and flexible in design to help bring out the best in a variety of services that a manufacturer or provider wants to provide on mobile products. SmartScreens currently runs in a Linux environment and can also run on leading operating systems including Symbian and the Windows CE family, and supports a comprehensive list of connectivity options, including fully integrated Wi-Fi connectivity, traditional cellular and Bluetooth. It also supports SIP/VoIP in addition to traditional cellular voice, can support most types of media content for music and video, and is capable of supporting a variety of back-end services and providers.
In addition, Haier America is the first partner to implement the new software application framework and plans to develop a new connected media player powered by the "SmartScreens" technology and its media features. Haier America is the U.S. Sales and Marketing division of the international Haier Group, China's largest appliance maker. A production sample of Haier's device will be demonstrated at the CES show in AOL's Booth (Central Plaza, #CP10) and at Haier's Booth (Central Hall, # 15749).
Companies that leverage the framework will benefit from a new level of flexibility to help them bring wirelessly connected devices and services to market faster, without having to develop essential software components themselves. They can choose how they want to customize and differentiate their products and services, including which features, based on what they want to provide for their target audience, geographic location, or even vertical market.
"We're excited about the promise of the 'SmartScreens' technology to enhance a new generation of mobile devices, said Mike Wehrs, Vice President of Product Management and Evangelism, Tegic Communications. "Our software framework is ideally suited for delivering a wide variety of device, content and service solutions. This addition to Tegic's portfolio of software solutions will allow us to build upon our global presence and channel relationships, as we continue our vision of making mobile applications easier through technology."
"Our vision is to provide a new portable media player that will enhance consumers' digital lifestyles, said Michael Jemal, President and CEO of Haier America. "Tegic's 'SmartScreens' software and media features will help enable us to make that happen. We're looking forward to working together to leverage our next generation technologies and bring great innovations and new capabilities to consumers."
Growing consumer interest in multimedia and feature-rich devices is driving the market opportunity for a new segment of personal devices that will use wireless connectivity and that are very centered on content like music and video. According to industry trend forecasts, multimedia-enabled handsets are expected to dominate the handset market by 2010.
Tegic Communications is at the forefront of this trend, embracing a horizontal ecosystem and marketplace approach for the "SmartScreens" framework by partnering with companies such as device manufacturers and service providers to offer them highly customizable and adaptable enabling technologies that help them quickly and easily bring turnkey solutions to market. This approach allows each company involved to combine their strengths in industrial design, software development, channel management and content offerings to bring about a compelling overall experience at an aggressive price point with rapid time to market advantages.
To address this need, Tegic is also making available a set of applications called "SmartScreens Media" with features tailored for connected multimedia mobile experiences. Features include a video & audio player; the ability to play content like music in both stored and streaming modes; support for popular media formats, as well as background downloading, playlists, search and USB 2.0. When coupled with wireless connectivity, the "SmartScreens Media" features can enable wireless 'sync' of content like music from a back-end media service directly. For example, users would be able to access and add music onto a device from a media provider's "storefront," without having to dock it or sync it with a PC.
For more information, please visit
http://www.smartscreensmobile.com or
http://www.tegic.com.
About Tegic Communications
Tegic is a leading provider of enabling software for mobile data services, including market-leading T9 Text Input software and the XT9 Mobile Interface. A wholly owned subsidiary of AOL LLC, Tegic offers advanced alphabet- and character-based text input prediction in 60 languages to help users of text-enabled mobile phones and feature-rich smartphones to more easily use mobile messaging, email, search, browsing and more. The company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington (U.S.A.) and has offices in London, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul,Beijing, New Delhi, Singapore and Sao Paulo. Tegic is on the Web at http://www.tegic.com/.
