Press Release

October 24, 2000

OTTAWA, Canada - 24 October 2000: Espial today announced a new integrated business model to enable the rapid growth of the Pervasive Internet. This industry-collaborative model spans horizontal application and content service developers, service-ready smart device OEMs, and service providers delivering services to all types of emerging information appliances. Espial’s vision serves as a catalyst to enable billions of Internet users to access highly personalized services through a variety of smart devices, i.e., the emergence of the Pervasive Internet, and mass-market access to ‘my data, my way.’

To enable the key communities needed for the Pervasive Internet, the company is expanding each of three development initiatives. First, Espial is enhancing its already-successful client-based software, Espial DeviceTop‘, its core applications and support tools for the smart device community. Second, the company is increasing its support for the collaborative developer portal site, devicetop.com ™, now serving thousands of smart device service developers. Finally, Espial will complete its portfolio of offerings for end-to-end service delivery by launching Espial DeviceServer‘, its server-based software suite for service providers who are adding smart device application and content services for existing and new subscriber bases.

“As a leader in smart device software, Espial takes the two current technology components we offer, client-based software and developer tools, and completes what we call the Pervasive Internet Ecosystem by adding service management capabilities for service providers. We think this approach fits with the collaborative spirit of the Internet, and appropriately supports each player in the Ecosystem,” says Jaison Dolvane, Espial president and CEO. “We see this as a larger effort than that of individual players in the Ecosystem. It is a holistic approach toward building a community of user-oriented technologies.”

By 2003, International Data Corporation (IDC) forecasts that Internet device sales will outnumber PC sales. PCs will continue adding value through integrated applications and operating systems, but users are beginning to turn to smart devices for more basic and personalized functionality. Application and content services that target or accommodate this new market will require integrated, horizontal services across platforms.

“As we approach the era of cross-platform open standards through efforts such as WAP II and J2ME, all players in this Pervasive Internet Ecosystem must prepare to shift toward OS interoperability and common service management technologies,” said Dr. Pentti Kouri, former board member of Nokia and managing partner for Invisible Hand. “Espial is driving a new paradigm, which allows a vast array of services and potential partners to enter the smart device and services industry. Companies will be able to reach an entirely new market, and can offer new services that cater specifically to this new audience

Espial supports the key communities of the Pervasive Internet Ecosystem shown above, with the following offerings:

Espial DeviceTop™ — Espial’s initial software suite, Espial DeviceTop, is used by smart device manufacturers to enable users to auto-register on a smart device network, subscribe to services, and receive personalized services. Application technologies included in this suite (brandable browser and an e-mail, client and information manager) save significant development time for device manufacturers and help them rapidly bring to market service-enabled smart devices. Espial DeviceTop runs on leading device operating systems and Java Virtual Machines, such as Microsoft WinCE, Redhat Linux, Symbian EPOC32, Wind River VxWorks and pSOS, QNX QNX 4 and Neutrino, Microware OS9, Be BEOS, Sun Microsystems Java, Tao Group intent™, and Insignia Jeode. DeviceTop features are deployed on thousands of smart devices from Motorola, Samsung, Akai, IAN/Virgin and @pos.com, among others.

devicetop.com™ — In concert with device partners and industry editors, Espial operates a developer portal, www.devicetop.com, to assist developers in building and marketing services for smart devices. Devicetop.com collects smart device services online and links them to device manufacturers, as well as linking developers to service providers. A key goal is to horizontally link the Java, Linux, WAP, PalmOS and Amiga communities. Espial works with Intel, Motorola, Sun, Amiga and media partners Java Report, Java Developer Journal and Doctor Dobbs to maintain and enhance this hub.

Espial DeviceServer™ — The DeviceServer platform is the third offering serving the Pervasive Internet Ecosystem, and it includes tools to help service providers personalize information delivery to users, to remotely manage smart devices and the software which runs them, and to package usage and billing information for subscribers. DeviceServer is an extension to a service provider’s Operations Support System (OSS), functioning as a module that extends the ability of the carrier's OSS to profile, track and activate the diverse functions of individual smart devices. DeviceServer can be tailored to any carrier's business model. In the coming weeks, Espial will announce the full feature set of DeviceServer and a series of trials to validate DeviceServer’s functionality with both wireline and wireless service providers.

“Espial’s smart device technology has provided us a great competitive edge for our hardware design and client integration projects,” said Audrey Parma, President and CEO of IAN (Internet Appliance Network). “The Espial DeviceTop software enabled IAN to shrink development and delivery cycles on the service-ready Virgin Webplayer device, launched in April. We’re looking at ways to leverage Espial’s infrastructure software as other areas of our business gain momentum. As we expand our provider alliances, we can offer greater value to our customers through connectivity integration, device management and custom application services, built on top of the Espial service delivery platform.”

As referenced earlier, new application developers have begun to enter the market for independent application and content services to be marketed to service providers. Vistify, a San Francisco-based application services development company, is evidence of this trend. The company has begun building e-commerce application services on top of the Espial service delivery platform. Vistify is pioneering the evolution of e-commerce towards an always-on, any-device user experience. The company's solution enables network operators (Cable, DSL, Satellite, Wireless) to offer customized, packaged e-commerce to their customers, thus creating new revenue-stream opportunities. In addition, device manufacturers can leverage the Vistify solution to incorporate a state-of-the-art e-commerce platform into their offering. "Espial has figured out a great way to enable services to be delivered to any type of smart device," stated Thomas Martis, co-founder and COO of Vistify. "The company's open API enables us to build application services which cross multiple device types and operating systems. We can maximize our opportunity, leverage our capability, and gain exposure across the developer, service provider and device OEM communities. We're going to use this support to the fullest extent."

“Espial is in a position to help jump-start new service provider business models,” says Rebecca Wetzel, well-known ISP industry analyst and president of Wetzel Consulting. “Bandwidth and connectivity are dog-eat-dog businesses, and smart service providers are turning to other avenues -- like service customization -- to differentiate service, retain customers, and increase profitability. Espial gives them tools for personalizing information, linking them to revenue-generating smart device applications, and enabling service management across devices.”