Provides Advanced Functionality for Consumer Electronics Devices
SUNNYVALE, Calif. and LONDON, Sept. 21, 2004 — MontaVista Software, Inc., and Amstrad PLC, a British consumer electronics company, today announced that MontaVista® Linux® is the chosen operating system for Amstrad’s recently introduced “E3” email-enabled home videophone.
With a full color screen and built-in camera, the E3 videophone allows users to send and receive email, and take digital pictures and email them to a PC, mobile phone (via MMS) or another E3, while also letting them surf the World Wide Web, or play video games with a special game pad.
“With the E3, consumers no longer have to buy a PC or a mobile phone to make video calls, send emails with pictures and sound, and surf the net,” said Simon Sugar, Amstrad commercial director. “Thanks, in part, to MontaVista Linux, we can offer this full featured phone for the home, to our customers at a very reasonable cost.”
“Consumer devices, such as the Amstrad E3 videophone, are integrating more functionality and new features. To make these devices easy-to-use for consumers, the underlying software needs to be very sophisticated,” said Ian Graham, president, MontaVista Ltd. (UK). “MontaVista Linux provides a robust platform, low cost of development, and industry-leading security and networking capabilities to consumer electronics companies throughout the world.”
Key Factors in the Selection of MontaVista Linux
According to Amstrad, the following requirements led it to move to MontaVista Linux:
– A commercial-grade software platform
– A robust and versatile tools environment
– Getting products to market rapidly
– Lower overall development costs
MontaVista Linux Professional Edition
MontaVista Linux Professional Edition (Pro) is a leading comprehensive embedded operating system (OS) and cross development environment. It includes a modern OS featuring real-time functionality, multi-process capabilities and multi-threaded remote debugging, bundled with extensive software components including rich networking. Pro targets more than 25 processors from seven industry-leading architectures and supports more than 100 boards offering developers great freedom to choose the elements for their development environment, which, in effect, allows them to speed cutting-edge products to market faster and at a lower cost. Pro also incorporates MontaVista DevRocketTM, a powerful integrated development environment that delivers state-of-the-art development tools.
Availability
The Amstrad E3 is currently available in Great Britain only, on an exclusive basis, from Dixons Store Group. Distribution will be broadened to other retailers in time for Christmas. For more information, go to http://www.amstrad.com/e3_buy.html. More information on the phone can be obtained at http://www.amstrad.com/e3_intro.html
or http://www.amstrad.com/downloads/e3_spec/Amstrad_
MontaVista Linux Professional Edition 3.1 is available from MontaVista Software and the company’s sales and distribution channels worldwide. It provides customers with the MontaVista Linux kernel, software updates, deployment components, utilities, development tools, access to the MontaVista ZoneTM (a customer portal), comprehensive technical support and hands-on Linux training classes.
About MontaVista Software
MontaVista Software provides Open Source platform allowing system designers to innovate across a wide range of inter-connected intelligent devices and communications infrastructure. MontaVista enables software developers with a commercial-grade Linux-based operating system. MontaVista Linux is a universal development platform that helps customers differentiate their products and get them to market faster at lower overall development costs. MontaVista Linux is the preferred choice of some of the world’s largest corporations.
Founded in 1999, by real-time operating system pioneer James Ready, and headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley, in Sunnyvale, Calif., MontaVista Software is a privately held company funded by leading venture capital firms and strategic corporate investors. For more information about MontaVista Software, please visit http://www.mvista.com.
About Amstrad
Amstrad Plc is a manufacturer and supplier of Telecoms, Audio, TV, Video and Digital Satellite products. Founded by present Chairman Sir Alan Sugar in 1968 as an electrical goods trader, over five decades the company has established its reputation as making innovative technology accessible to the mass market.
Amstrad is the creator of the 3rd generation of e-m@iler superphones – the E3. The most affordable, easiest and cost effective videophone, the E3 follows on from the success of its predecessors the e-m@iler and e-m@ilerplus, allowing email, Internet, picture send, games and video calls. Listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1980, Amstrad launched the first mass market home computer package in the mid 1980s and was the founder supplier to Sky TV when the service launched in 1988. Amstrad currently supplies BSkyB with set-top boxes for the UK market, including Sky +, and also provides digital satellite receivers for the Sky Italia service. For more information, please visit http://www.amstrad.com.
Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. MontaVista and DevRocket are trademarks or registered trademarks of MontaVista Software Inc. All other names mentioned are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.
Contacts:
Amstrad,
David Fraser,
Frank PR,
Tel: 020 7693 6999,
Email: david@frankpr.it
MontaVista Software,
Joe Samagond,
Director, Corporate Marketing,
MontaVista Software, Inc.,
Phone: (408) 328-9234,
E-mail: jsamagond@mvista.com
Ian Graham,
President,
MontaVista Ltd. (UK),
Tel: +44 (0) 1344 393 024,
E-mail: igraham@mvista.co.uk”
