31st May 2006 07:01
Synchronica PLC31 May 2006 Strictly embargoed until 07.00 am 31 May 2006 Synchronica plc ("Synchronica" or the "Company") Synchronica to provide push email and synchronisation for IXI Mobile's Ogo device Agreement heralds unique, affordable mobile email and messaging solution for the mass market based on open standards London, 31 May - Synchronica plc, an international provider of mobilesynchronisation and device management solutions based on open industrystandards, has licensed its synchronisation software SyncML Gateway to IXIMobile Inc., developer of the Ogo(TM) family of mobile messaging solutions forthe mass market. The agreement enables IXI Mobile to offer mobile email andsynchronisation for its Ogo device, brought to market by mobile operators andInternet Service Providers, and already launched in several countries worldwide.The Synchronica SyncML Gateway will allow Ogo users to enjoy seamless pushemail, mobile calendar and contact synchronisation, enabling Ogo as one of thefirst devices to address the mobile email and personal information management("PIM") needs of the sizable consumer market. This agreement is expected toassist the Company in meeting analysts' revenue expectations for H2 2006, 2007and 2008. Synchronica's SyncML Gateway offers wireless synchronisation of calendar,address book and email between industry-standard, SyncML-enabled devices andMicrosoft Exchange or Sun Java Enterprise System. It was developed in responseto market demand for industry-standard secure mobile email and PIMsynchronisation. As the SyncML Gateway is based entirely on the open industrystandards SyncML (OMA DS) and Push IMAP, Synchronica believes that this holds itsafe from issues related to software patents. Use of mobile email is set to expand significantly over the next few yearsaccording to Datamonitor, which estimates that global mobile operator revenuesfrom mobile email and personal information management are expected to exceed$600 million by 2009. IXI Mobile developed its end-to-end Ogo offering as a massmarket mobile solution to take advantage of the exponential growth in mobilemessaging and personal information services. IXI Mobile's Ogo is sold via mobile operators and Internet Service Providers,and Synchronica will provide the synchronisation solution for calendar andaddress book including email push functionality. Ogo was initially launched in the US by AT&T Wireless (now Cingular Wireless)and is offered in Switzerland, by Swisscom Mobile, the country's leading mobileoperator, in Turkey, by a leading ISP and part of the country's topmedia-entertainment conglomerate, and in Germany, via a partnership betweenVodafone and 1&1, Europe's largest Internet service provider with over fivemillion customer contracts and 56 million email user accounts bundled with aflat rate data charge of €9.99 per month. Carsten Brinkschulte CEO of Synchronica commented: "The agreement with IXI touse Synchronica's SyncML Gateway for its innovative, affordable Ogo offeringgives the man in the street an affordable and advanced alternative to theBlackBerry. Together we are well placed to provide device manufacturers, ISPsand mobile operators with a highly scalable, industry standard synchronisationand email push solution to take advantage of this opportunity in the consumermarket." "Mobile operators have every interest in rolling out mobile email solutions totheir networks, and see it as an indispensable element in their competitivestrategy," said Datamonitor analyst Alaa Owaineh. "Mobile email is on the vergeof mass market adoption, and the number of mobilised email accounts will explodeover the next three years." Amit Haller, Co-Founder, President and CEO of IXI Mobile, said: "We are pleasedto be able to offer a superior email and sync experience on our Ogo devices viaSynchronica's SyncML Gateway solution. Our service provider customers arecontinually looking for new ways to deliver value added mobile services, and wefeel that this agreement with Synchronica continues the tradition of deliveringappealing and affordable solutions to the mass market." For further information please contact: Carsten Tal Raeside Simon HudsonBrinkschulte, CEOAngus Dent, CFO Vice President, Marketing & Clemmie Carr Strategic DevelopmentNicole Meissner, CMOSynchronica plc IXI Mobile, Inc. Tavistock CommunicationsTel: +44 1580 830 033 Tel: + 1 650 551 0600 Tel: +44 20 7920 3150 Notes to Editors: About Synchronica Synchronica develops and markets synchronisation and device management solutionsfor mobile operators, device manufacturers, and enterprises. Its productportfolio ranges from data synchronization (DS) to device management (DM) andfirmware update over-the-air (FOTA). Synchronica has a strong track record inthe SyncML space. Products include the world's first SyncML DM server in acarrier-grade environment and the award-winning SyncML Gateway, which enablesseamless synchronisation of corporate data. Its latest offering, Mobile Manager,provides companies with a robust mobile device management solution for WindowsMobile-based devices. Headquartered in the UK with offices in Berlin andWashington D.C. Synchronica plc is a public company listed on the London StockExchange. More information is available at www.synchronica.com About IXI Mobile IXI Mobile, Inc. offers solutions that bring innovative, data-centric mobiledevices and services to the mass market. IXI Mobile's Ogo devices are designedto improve the mobile user experience and increase mobile voice and data usage.The company provides a turn-key solution to mobile operators and Internetservice providers worldwide to launch and support Ogo products. IXI Mobile isheadquartered in Redwood City, California, and has research and developmentfacilities in Israel and Romania. IXI Mobile also maintains regional salesoffices. For more information on IXI Mobile, please visit www.ixi.com. On February 28, 2006, IXI Mobile and Israel Technology Acquisition Corporation(ITAC) (OTCBB: ISLTU.OB, ISLT.OB, ISLTW.OB) entered into a definitive agreementpursuant to which a wholly owned subsidiary of ITAC would merge with and intoIXI Mobile, with IXI Mobile surviving the merger and becoming a wholly ownedsubsidiary of ITAC. Upon consummation of the merger, ITAC will change its nameto IXI Mobile, Inc. and IXI Mobile will change its name to IXI Mobile (USA),Inc. About Ogo The Ogo family of devices delivers popular applications, including email,instant messaging, SMS, RSS, voice and Web browsing on optimized, easy-to-usehandheld devices for a true on-the-go mobile messaging experience. Ogo waslaunched in the United States by AT&T Wireless (now Cingular Wireless),Switzerland by Swisscom Mobile, Turkey by e-kolay.net., and Germany by 1&1. Moreinformation on Ogo is available at: www.ogo.com. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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