Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Acquires
Beduin Communications
PALO ALTO, California - October 20, 1998-- Sun Microsystems,
Inc., today announced that it has acquired Beduin Communications Inc., a privately
held Canadian company specializing in JavaTM application products for the emerging
consumer device market. This acquisition extends Sun's current offerings in this
high growth market and supports Sun's goal to enable the networked consumer with
the platforms, tools and applications to participate in the global network.
"With the acquisition of Beduin, Sun gains a crucial component to the embedded
software solutions that companies working on next generation consumer devices are
demanding," said Mark Tolliver, President, Sun Microsystems Consumer and Embedded.
"Sun is committed to providing our customers with the best implementations
of Java technology. This application suite, combined with the PersonalJavaTM environment
is a cornerstone for consumer device companies launching network-enabled products."
"Both Sun and Beduin share a common vision to provide feature-rich, cost-effective
and reliable embedded software for the growing market for networked consumer devices,"
said Bob Tennant, President and Co-Founder, Beduin Communications Inc.
"Integrating our product line and development expertise with Sun's existing
Java software products for the consumer and embedded market, creates an exciting
combination that we hope will accelerate the deployment of innovative consumer devices,"
added John Criswick, Senior Vice President and Co-Founder, Beduin Communications
Inc.
Personal Applications, Innovating for
a Growing Market
Sun intends to ship a suite of products gained
from the acquisition in the next two quarters under the name Personal Applications.
The first product a compact browser, is written entirely in the Java programming
language and supports today's Internet standards to ensure users can access a wide
range of Web pages. The browser provides integrated telephony capabilities that
allow a user to click on a phone number in a Web page and dial the number automatically.
The browser is scheduled to ship by the end of this calendar year. Additional applications
will follow to complete the suite, including an email and organizer application.
"The combination of this core Java application suite with the PersonalJava
environment provides a powerful foundation, upon which innovative consumer devices
can be built and innovative applications can run," continued Mark Tolliver,
President, Sun Microsystems Consumer and Embedded. "We expect competition in
the applications market and we are counting on software developers to continue to
create innovative applications for the PersonalJava application environment to increase
innovation in the market, and ultimately lead to greater customer choice."
Sun's Personal Applications are optimized to run on the PersonalJava platform,
the application environment for consumer devices. Sun currently has over 25 licensees
of the PersonalJava platform. Personal Applications will provide the core applications
manufacturers need to ship with their products with optimal user functionality.
The above news release contains forward looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties. Sun's actual results may vary materially from the results discussed
in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such a difference include
those risks surrounding timely development, production and acceptance of new products
and services, Sun's ability to compete in the highly competitive and rapidly changing
marketplace and the other risks detailed from time to time in Sun's periodic reports
filed with the Securities and Exchange commission, including, but not limited to
Form 10-K for fiscal year ended June 30, 1998.
About Beduin Communications Inc.
Founded in 1997, Beduin Communications Inc. has established
itself as an innovator in the emerging internet appliance market. The company's
focus has been the growing market for smart phones, devices that integrate traditional
telephony features with the added functionality of the network, such as email and
web access.
About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, "The
Network Is The ComputerTM," has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc., (NASDAQ "SUNW"),
to its position as a leading provider of hardware, software and services for establishing
enterprise-wide intranets and expanding the power of the Internet. With more than
$10 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in more than 150 countries and
on the WoldWide Web at http://www.sun.com. @Macarlo, Inc. @Macarlo's Shareware & Web OS/2 Java Lobby Member
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