Wednesday July 5, 10:01 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Spyglass Inc.(R)
Spyglass Prism 3.1 Supports the Latest Standards
for Transmission of Content to Wireless Devices
XML, CHTML and WML 1.2 Support Will Propel Growth of Data Related Services For
Operators and Content Providers Worldwide
NAPERVILLE, Ill., July 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Internet pioneer Spyglass Inc.® (Nasdaq: SPYG - news) announced today
that it is shipping its latest version of Spyglass Prism, the content delivery and transformation technology being used by
wireless operators and content providers around the world. Major new features in release 3.1 of Spyglass Prism include
support for XML (eXtensible Markup Language), content sources and support for transforming content into CHTML
(Compact HTML), and the updated WML 1.2 (Wireless Markup Language) specification issued by the WAP (Wireless
Application Protocol) Forum.
(Photo: newscom.com )
Now in its third generation, Spyglass Prism provides a highly scalable, distributed framework for converting data sources
and Internet mime types into device and browser specific languages and formats. Content providers and aggregators are
able to transform both HTML and XML data sources in a consistent manner using extraction expressions to extract
content and templates or using XSL transformations to present it to the user's device. New conversion operations can be
added to Spyglass Prism at any time through a conversion API layer.
``Transformation of XML and HTML content is going to be instrumental in driving the growth of wireless data services
throughout the world,'' said Doug Colbeth, Spyglass chairman and CEO. ``As more service operators and content
providers look for ways to generate revenue by distributing their content to mobile devices, they are going to need the
type of solution that Spyglass is, and has been providing for the past three years.''
The WAP Forum, a standards body comprised of technology providers, manufacturers and service operators, recently
issued the latest specification for WML. WML is a markup language based on XML and is intended for use in specifying
content and user interfaces for narrowband devices like cellular phones and pagers. XML allows content developers to
define and customize the markup languages they use for their applications and provides better facilities for browser
performance in wireless devices. By providing for the conversion of HTML and XML content into the languages
required by specific devices, service operators and content providers can be assured of providing the broadest possible
array of Web content to the widest possible audience of wired and wireless users.
Compact HTML is a subset of HTML and is the language being used in the popular i-mode service offered in Japan by
NTT DoCoMo. As of March 2000, after only 13 months in service, the i-mode service had secured over 5 million
subscribers. Spyglass Prism 3.1 has also been enhanced to provide additional HTML conversion routines, the automatic
detection of WAP devices, and simplified installation and administration.
``In addition to the multiple levels of HTML employed in browsers today, there are already at least five other distinct
mark-up languages in use,'' said Jack Armstrong, Spyglass vice president, mobile data strategy. ``Our job is to provide
the enabling technologies that will make the transformation of content fast and cost efficient for content and service
providers, regardless of the device. The broad availability of content in a variety of formats is the key to driving the
growth and revenues for a variety of data services.''
About Spyglass Prism
Spyglass Prism dynamically transforms HTML, WML or XML content to address the unique challenges operators,
wireless portals and content providers face in delivering Internet content to information appliances that vary in display
capabilities, processing power and communications speed. Spyglass Prism instantly identifies the device which is making
a request for data to be retrieved, and then extracts, compresses and transforms the data and images to meet the
specifications of the device for appropriately formatted display and delivery. Spyglass Prism also provides content and
service providers with a powerful set of ready-to-use tools that enables them to customize their content according to
delivery strategies that may contain a wide variety of preferences. For instance, the new Spyglass Prism can support
WAP 1.2 specifications by automatically converting standard HTML into WML before delivering the content to a
WAP-compliant device. In addition, Spyglass Prism can be extended to deliver Web content, via short messages, voice
and Internet protocols, while ensuring content is optimized for multiple devices, wireless or otherwise.
About Spyglass Inc.
Spyglass Inc. (Nasdaq: SPYG - news) is a leading provider of strategic Internet consulting, software and professional
services that enable content providers, service operators and device manufacturers to capitalize on the potential of the
Internet. Market-leading companies using Spyglass solutions include GTE, Microsoft, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Sony,
TeleCruz, Thomson Consumer Electronics, WorldGate and Xerox. Spyglass is headquartered in Naperville, Ill. and has
regional offices in Lexington, Mass., Silicon Valley, Calif., and London, along with a wholly owned subsidiary in Tokyo,
Japan. Visit spyglass.com for more information.
July 2000
Spyglass and the Spyglass logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Spyglass, Inc., in the United States and other
countries. Mosaic is a trademark of the University of Illinois. (Other technologies and brand names are trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective companies.) This release contains information about management's future
expectations, plans and prospects that constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions
under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by
these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors including consummation of binding agreements
with prospective business partners, competition, development of the marketplace, the timing of the execution and
recognition of revenues under new agreements, the ability to close and execute large multi-year contracts, product
development, technological change and other factors that are discussed in the company's annual report on Form 10-K
for the year ended September 30, 1999 and other documents periodically filed with the SEC. |
