Zi manages multilingual interface for ASE Telecom
CALGARY, June 28 /CNW/ - Zi Corporation's (Nasdaq: ZICA) (TSE: ZIC)
eZiText(TM) will be used to enhance wireless communication products from ASE
Telecom Co. Ltd. Zi now has licensing agreements with 10 manufacturers in
Korea.
"As production is outsourced to low-cost facilities, manufacturers in
Taiwan and Korea are fast becoming the ODM choice for brand name handsets,"
says Gordon Tsang, director, Sales, Zi Corporation. "Zi has developed strong
relationships with manufacturers in these centres by providing superior
language expertise and proven engineering capability through our facilities in
Asia."
Zi's predictive input technology will initially be implemented in English
and Chinese on a Tri-Mode CDMA handset expected to be available early 2002.
Implementations are also planned on the GSM platform. ASE Telecom expects
handset production to be in excess of 3 million units per year by 2004.
"The demand for handsets in Asia-Pacific is expected to continue to
grow," said Pyo, Jung-yong, president, ASE Telecom. "With proven expertise in
character-based languages such as Chinese and Korean, Zi manages all the
complexities of a multilingual interface, allowing us to concentrate on our
export strategy."
Under the agreement, ASE Telecom has licensed 21 languages including
English, Chinese, Vietnamese and the latest version of eZiText(TM) Korean. Zi
Corporation unveiled eZiText(TM) Korean version 4.5 at Expo Comm Wireless
Korea. This latest version of the predictive software allows whole Korean
phrases to be entered with only a few key presses.
Founded in 1999, ASE Telecom Co., Ltd. specializes in the production of
wireless communication products including pagers, two-way radios, CDMA and GSM
handsets. Focused on the export market, ASE Telecom has developed advanced
research and development capabilities and production facilities to quickly
adapt to the changing needs of the marketplace. With its market leading
products, ASE Telecom is poised to become a leading OEM supplier to worldwide
service providers.
Zi Corporation is a market-driven technology company delivering
intelligent interface solutions to enhance the user experience of wireless and
consumer technologies. The company's core technology product, eZiText(TM)
connects people to short messaging, e-mail, e-commerce, Web browsing and
similar applications in almost any written language. Zi Services provides
market-leading engineering design in Bluetooth, VoIP and man-machine
interface. Zi supports its strategic partners from offices in Calgary,
Beijing, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Shenzhen, Stockholm and Tokyo. A publicly
traded company, Zi Corporation is listed on the NASDAQ National Market (ZICA)
and the Toronto Stock Exchange (ZIC). |
