China adopts text entry standard for consumer electronics
CALGARY, April 11 /CNW/ - Zi Corporation (NASDAQ: ZICA) (TSE: ZIC)
confirms that its eZiText(TM) software technology conforms to China's new
standards for text input on electronic devices. China has adopted official
standards governing stroke and component-based input. The new standards
incorporate the previous standards GB2312 and GB13000.1 advanced by the State
Language Commission. Zi is the first and only company to have a product, which
received State Language Commission certification under both previous
standards.
"Zi has advanced the use of a stroke and component based-input system for
six years," says Antoine Blondeau, president and chief operating officer for
Zi Corporation. "The adoption of these standards by China's State Bureau of
Quality and Technical Supervision endorses our approach as the most intuitive
and logical for native Chinese speakers."
These standards can be likened to those used in North America for the
position of letters and symbols on a keyboard and the way that letters are
combined to form words. Zi has compared the requirements in the new standards
with its software technology and concluded it is in full compliance.
eZiText(TM) is available to manufacturers seeking certification under the new
standards.
The State Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision has published two
new standards; GB/T18030-2000 and GB/T18031-2000. GB/T18030-2000 is an
extension of the existing State Language Commission standards and includes
expanded names for people and places as well as mirroring the way Chinese is
commonly written and taught in schools. Under the new standard, the number of
characters defined rises to more than 27,000 from 20,902. The GB/T18031-2000
standard confirms that a stroke and component-based input system is a
preferred format for consumer electronics, such as cell phones, computer
keyboards, set-top box remote controls and personal digital assistants. The
standard also establishes the preferred arrangement for mapping strokes onto
an electronic device.
Zi Corporation is a leading provider of embedded software technology and
educational products. The company's core product, eZiText(TM), connects people
to short messaging, email, e-commerce, web browsing and similar applications
in almost any written language. Zi's wholly owned subsidiary, Oztime.com, is
China's first education service provider. Zi supports its strategic partners
from offices in Calgary, Beijing, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Shenzhen and
Stockholm. A publicly traded company, Zi Corporation is listed on the NASDAQ
Stock Market (ZICA) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (ZIC). |
