Tao Announces Intent Multimedia Phone Platform Available For Network Operators, Handset Manufacturers And Silicon Manufacturers

Tao Group, creator of the intent® suite of technologies, today announced its intent Phone Technology Edition. This is a complete handset technology engine that can scale from low-end feature phones right across the range of smart devices. It utilises the full power and performance of intent,including its renowned language independent, audio-visual technologies, and the world's fastest handset Java engine. It is this combination of components that sets intent apart as the only multimedia platform truly capable of delivering rich content services such as games and music into the hands of consumers.

This is the solution for those operators, handset manufacturers and chip manufacturers who are now looking for device platforms that can deliver beyond the limitations of the Java language. Tao has always maintained that Java is an important element within the platform but is not the platform itself. Java can only ever be a part of the mobile technology mix, deployed in conjunction with first class audio & graphics and the ability to run native code, to take multimedia on mobiles to a new level. Java alone does not have the depth of functionality required to bring credible quality music, games and fun to mobiles. intent can dynamically run content written in any programming language, for example, games written in C and C++, Java MIDlets or web pages in mark-up language.

Intent is a proven and robust platform that has already been embedded into many millions of handsets and a very broad range of consumer devices, manufactured by some of the world's leading brand names. Intent's binary portability means that the platform works without change or performance penalty, regardless of operating system or hardware.

A number of major commercial commitments have already been made to Tao and shall be announced through 2005. First public commitment to the platform comes from Teleca, the leading international software integration and services house working with many of the world's leading device manufacturers. It's first implementation runs intent on the TI OMAP platform.

Francis Charig, Chairman of Tao said, "The market has changed its position in the last 12 months with the realisation that Java-alone solutions simply do not make sense for delivering true multimedia content. The new issues are less about specific languages and more about delivering high quality service with applications, such as audio mixers and 3D games, which current architectures are not set up to support. The market needs a pervasive, scalable and integrated, proven platform that silicon vendors, device manufacturers and mobile operators can take for any operating system and hardware platform that delivers new levels of functionality and performance. This is fundamental to impact churn and data service revenues for operators. Intent achieves all of this in one engine."