STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Oct. 25, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Sony Ericsson's latest mobile phone flagship, the Ericsson T68, has just been launched. It is an impressive phone with many strong features such as GPRS, color screen and Bluetooth.
"It is almost like being in Japan, except for one small detail," said Gustaf Rosell, CEO of Xpedio (SSE:XPED). As the future version of WAP, (WAP 2.0), was not defined in time for the release of the T68, this phone supports only WAP 1.2.1, which is based on the WML language and black and white images. This is a pity for such a nice phone.
Xpedio has therefore developed a converter between the highly popular i-mode format CHTML, a subset of the HTML language used everywhere on the wired Internet, and WML 1.2.1, which supports color images. Major parts of WAP 2.0 (the XHTML Basic format) will also be supported.
Besides supporting existing i-mode sites in Japan, it will also display the soon-to-be released European i-mode services in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Perhaps the most important aspect is that the development of new, rich services will be a lot simpler and rewarding. These services will be possible to view on all future i-mode or WAP 2.0 phones which are to be more widely released in Europe within the next few months.
The Xpedio's quasimode module will be sold to mobile GSM operators and/or their content providers with immediate availability. Besides the Ericsson T68, it also supports many other WAP 1.x phones made by Ericsson, although not with support for color images.
Xpedio also offers site building tools, application platform and other related services to the operators.
Note to editors:
i-mode is the brand name of NTT DoCoMo's mobile Internet services. Ericsson T68 is the registered trademark of Sony Ericsson Mobile.
Information on how, almost, anyone with basic knowledge of HTML can make i-mode sites can be found here: http://www.nttdocomo.com/i/tagindex.html
Picture of quasimode demonstrated on the Ericsson T68: http://docs.xpedio.com/quasimode.jpg
On Xpedio
Xpedio develops a platform for rapid development and scalable deployment of mobile Internet services. The focus is on device independence and communication services. Target customers are virtual operators and service providers.
The Xpedio headquarters are in Stockholm, Sweden. For more information, see http://www.xpedio.com