Another all time high..
Friday December 10, 11:07 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Extended Systems Demonstrates Wireless Bluetooth
Protocol Stack at Developer's Conference in LA and at
Bluetooth Seminar in Japan
LOS ANGELES and TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 10, 1999--Extended Systems (Nasdaq:XTND - news), a leader in
short-range wireless connectivity, provided two technology demonstrations this week of its XTNDAccess Blue SDK embedded
Bluetooth(TM) protocol stack -- one at the Bluetooth Developer's Conference in Los Angeles, Calif. (Dec.6-9) and another in
Tokyo, Japan (Dec. 9) at a Bluetooth Seminar sponsored by A.I. Corporation.
The communication software protocol is used by manufacturers to implement Bluetooth wireless connectivity in PDAs, cell
phones, and other mobile devices as well as other applications industries such as the automobile and aeronautics industries are
considering. XTNDAccess Blue SDK is an embedded stack that manages the wireless communication protocol needed to
implement Bluetooth defined user profiles. The profiles include object push, synchronization, file transfer, headset, cordless
telephony, intercom, dial-up networking, FAX and LAN access.
In Los Angeles, the Bluetooth Developers Conference attracted all of the technology leaders associated with the Bluetooth SIG
including the founders Ericsson, Nokia, Intel, IBM and Toshiba and new players Microsoft, 3Com, Motorola and Lucent. In Tokyo,
Extended Systems, in concert with A.I. Corporation, held a Bluetooth Seminar attended by over 60 of Japan's leading consumer
electronics' manufacturers including NEC, Sharp, Fujitsu, Casio, Cannon, Pentax, Kyocera, Kenwood, SII, Sony, Chio, TDK, JVC,
Pioneer, Hitachi, Honda, Matsushita, Yamataki.
The Bluetooth technology demonstrations enabled attendees at both events to observe a working implementation of the
specification in software and hardware, showing that upon release early next year manufacturers will be able to begin developing
Bluetooth equipped devices.
About Bluetooth Technology
Bluetooth's Special Interest Group (SIG) is a collection of wireless telecommunications and computing leaders. This group was
founded in 1998 by Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Nokia and Toshiba to create a global specification for short-range, wireless connectivity.
Since its founding, the Bluetooth SIG has grown to over 1,200 members, recently adding Microsoft, 3COM, Compaq, Dell,
Hewlett-Packard, Lucent, Motorola, Philips, Samsung, Siemens and Texas Instruments and others as members. More information
is available at www.bluetooth.com.
Bluetooth technology allows for the replacement of many proprietary cables that now connect one device to another, providing
seamless voice and data transmission via wireless, short-range radio. Bluetooth complements IrDA infrared's point-and-shoot
strength with omni-directional signaling and capacity to penetrate solid objects.
Extended Systems' Bluetooth Development Role
Extended Systems, was an early adopter of the Bluetooth RF standard and is finishing the development of its portable, embedded
protocol stack and multi-transport OBEX application fully implementing Bluetooth specifications 1.0. The XTNDAccess Bluetooth
protocol stack is scheduled for release in the first calendar quarter of 2000.
``Leading the way in Bluetooth software development is a natural extension of our leadership in infrared wireless connectivity.
Coupled with our family of infrared software, Windows applications, adapters, and development tools our Bluetooth development
and work on our Multi-transport OBEX application will fuel the growth of mobile information management by expanding the
sphere of wireless connectivity,' explains Steve Simpson, president and CEO of Extended Systems.
Short-range wireless connectivity opens the door to innovations in hardware design, software applications, and consumer usage for
existing cellular phones, handheld communicators, PDAs, set-top boxes, cable telephony/modems, automobile capabilities and
aeronautics applications as well as communication between PCs, notebooks, printers, cameras, and future consumer products. The
Bluetooth SIG consortium estimates that by the end of 2001 Bluetooth technology will be a standard feature in more than 100
million mobile phones, millions of PCs, mobile computers and other handheld devices.
About the Demonstrations
The demonstrations combined Extended Systems' software stack written over the top of a radio-modem hardware emulator
provided by Silicon Wave, Inc., a pioneer in the design of radio frequency (RF)-enabled microchips. In Los Angeles, both
Extended Systems and Silicon Wave demonstrated Extended System's embedded protocol stack running over the top of Silicon
Wave's emulator which included a host controller interface, radio-modem module and baseband radio transmitter.
The demonstration included two side-by-side notebook computers running XTNDAccess Blue SDK. The notebooks were seated
atop two radio-modem emulator systems. The notebooks were connected to each emulator by a serial cable, and a wireless radio
transmission was broadcast to and from antennas positioned at the rear of each device.
The technology demonstration illustrated how each system identified itself respectively as radio 1 (master) and radio 2 (slave). A
device inquiry was run by the master radio locating the other device, they established a link, and radio 1 passed a file to radio 2
using the Object Push user profile of the Bluetooth specification. The demo enabled observers to watch the software perform
activities within the OBEX application and other layers of the protocol stack as a file was transported wirelessly from one
notebook to the other. |
