Symbian announces co-operation with Japanese NTT DoCoMo to bring to market new wireless information device

New innovative communicator style device will set new standard for mobile email

Tokyo, Japan - May 27, 1999 - Symbian, a joint venture company developing technology for wireless information devices, has proposed a communicator based on one of Symbian's DFRDs (Device Family Reference Designs) jointly working with NTT DoCoMo, the world’s largest wireless network operator with 23.7 million mobile phone subscribers. This announcement comes only two days after it was announced that Matsushita Communication joined Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia and Psion as a shareholder in the Symbian joint venture.

"The new networked economy is going to be fuelled by a wide range of communicators and smartphones based on Symbian’s EPOC technology," commented Juha Christensen, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Sales, Symbian. "Working with the world’s leading network operators like NTT DoCoMo ensures seamless interoperability of these wireless information devices with wireless networks."

Symbian and NTT DoCoMo demonstrated a concept model of a communicator, based on Symbian's EPOC technology, at a press conference in Tokyo. The communicator supports normal e-mail editing, sending, receiving and browsing of information. The device can also receive and send images over e-mail.

NTT Mobile Communications Network, Inc. and Symbian concluded a memorandum of understanding to create joint research and development programs for new wireless communication technologies on the March 15, 1999. The features for the proposed Communicator have been achieved through the exchange of technical information between NTT DoCoMo and Symbian under the terms of the MoU.

About Symbian

Symbian owns, licenses, develops and supports EPOC technology - providing leading software, user interfaces, application frameworks and development tools for wireless information devices such as communicators and smartphones. Symbian aims to promote standards for the interoperation of wireless information devices with wireless networks, content services, messaging and enterprise wide solutions.

With headquarters in London, Symbian has offices in Tokyo and Kanazawa, Japan; Ronneby, Sweden; Cambridge, UK and San Francisco Bay Area, USA. Symbian is owned by Ericsson, Matsushita, Motorola, Nokia and Psion.
Symbian

About NTT DoCoMo

NTT Mobile Communications Network, Inc. (NTT DoCoMo), Japan's largest mobile communications operator provides a comprehensive range of wireless services including cellular phone, paging, satellite mobile communication, maritime telephone and in-flight telephone. Services are provided nationwide by nine regional subsidiaries. NTT DoCoMo had more than 23.7 million mobile phones subscribers as of the end of 1998, including both Personal Digital Cellular (PDC) and Personal Handyphone System (PHS) mobile phone customers. Consolidated sales reached 2.6 trillion yen in fiscal 1997, which ended in March 1998. NTT DoCoMo expects to introduce third-generation mobile communications system based on Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA) system in the spring of 2001. NTT DoCoMo was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in October 1998.
NTT DoCoMo website

Media Enquiries

Please direct enquiries to: Symbian Ltd +44 207 154 1383 press@symbian.com

Masami Kawasaki NTT DoCoMo +81 3 5563 7045 masami_kawasaki@seeds.nttdocomo.co.jp