Macromedia delivers Flash Lite 1.1

Macromedia delivers Flash Lite 1.1

New version adds support for connected applications and open standards including SVG-T

AUCKLAND, New Zealand- June 29, 2004 - Macromedia (Nasdaq: MACR) announced that Macromedia* Flash* Lite 1.1, the Flash Player profile for mobile phones, is now available for service providers and handset manufacturers around the world. Flash Lite 1.1 is a significant update to 1.0, first used in the NTT DoCoMo 505i handsets introduced last year. The new version has support for the W3C standard SVG Tiny (SVG-T), network connectivity, improved audio support and APIs to integrate Flash content with phone functionality. Early adopters and partners including Bellwave, NTT DoCoMo, Sony Ericsson, Symbian, Texas Instruments and T-Mobile are already enthusiastic about the promise of thistechnology (see quote sheet below). For more information on Flash Lite 1.1, visit http://www.macromedia.com/go/flashlite/.

"Flash Lite uses industry standards to light up today's mass market mobile phones with even more interactive multimedia functionality," said Juha Christensen, president of mobile and devices, Macromedia. "This rich experience is possible because of the pervasive technology of Flash and the skills of the strong community of Flash developers and designers."

With Flash Lite 1.1, Macromedia delivers on its mission to become the most trusted and first choice in multimedia for mobile devices. The update provides OEMs with a single player for playback of animations using SVG-T as well as Flash, the standard for interactive content. New network connectivity enables Flash content to make dynamic server queries, bringing the power of rich Internet applications to mobile phones. New scripting commands enable developers to create Flash content that can access core handset features such as sending multimedia messages, dialing, checking the network status and battery level. The update also adds improved audio functionality, with support for MP3, PCM, ADPCM and SMAF audio formats.

"The impact that FlashLite 1.1 will have for wireless campaigns and design centric projects is huge. The expanded features will now allow us to create new types of interactive applications for mobile phones, across multiple platforms," said Iain McDonald, Managing Director of Sydney based company Amnesia. "The benefits of this release can be passed on to the client via reduced development costs for many wireless applications, as well as a stronger and more engaging experience for the end user. Macromedia's continued innovations allow us to concentrate more on 'the idea' and less time on the 'how'."

"As mobile phone capabilities advance with stunning rapidity, a rich and responsive presentation layer has never been more important as a key base of competition," said Cliff Raskind, director of global wireless practice, Strategy Analytics, Inc. "In the quest to support more robust media types on a lightweight connected client while simultaneously condensing development cycles, the ability of one technology to provide core system functionality, integrate with other existing standards, and tap into a wealth of developers is a clear advantage."

Macromedia Flash Lite 1.1 is an updated profile of Flash Player designed specifically for mobile phones. This profile targets mass-market phones that do not have sufficient processing power and memory to support the entire Flash Player 7 feature set available on the desktop. Flash Lite 1.1 will be licensed in different configurations to address the needs of specific market segments such as handset manufacturers and operators. Developers today also have access to the Flash Lite 1.1 content development kit (CDK) covering tips, techniques and sample code for developing Macromedia Flash content for mobile phones using Macromedia Flash MX Professional 2004.

ABOUT MACROMEDIA Experience matters. Macromedia is motivated by the belief that great experiences build great businesses. Our software empowers millions of business users, developers and designers to create and deliver effective, compelling and memorable experiences - on the Internet, on fixed media, on wireless and on digital devices.

PARTNERS SUPPORT THE POTENTIAL OF FLASH LITE 1.1

Bellwave "Bellwave offers affordable, high-quality devices and specialises in innovative, feature-rich mobile multimedia products. We are excited about Flash Lite and the possibilities it will bring to the mobile world. We are building completely new phone interfaces using Flash Lite, as it was the only choice to bring a new level of innovation to modern handsets." - Ki-gon Yang, CEO, Bellwave Co., Ltd.

NTT DoCoMo "DoCoMo's partnership with Macromedia first delivered Flash Lite to i-mode users in Japan during spring 2003. Through Macromedia's enhancement of this widely-used technology, we expect new features to enable more dynamic content creation and enriched user experiences to i-mode users around the world." Takeshi Natsuno, managing director, NTT DoCoMo, Inc.

Sony Ericsson "Our users want easy-to-use phones that deliver compelling imaging, entertainment, and connectivity solutions. Supporting open standards and the latest technologies helps Sony Ericsson deliver a better mobile experience." - Alvi Haroon, vice president, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB

Symbian "Flash Lite for Symbian OS - the open industry standard operating system for advanced, data-enabled mobile phones - is a compelling technology that, when combined with the large Flash developer community, increases the range and quality of rich media content experiences that can be delivered to Symbian OS-based mobile phones." - Jerry Panagrossi, vice president, Symbian

T-Mobile "T-Mobile offers consumers and business customers the most advanced mobile communications services available today, including voice, messaging, and high-speed wireless data services. By leveraging the integrated authoring tools and developer community of Macromedia, Flash Lite 1.1 can enable companies to more quickly deliver service offerings for its subscribers." - Kevin Cunnington, executive vice president, T-Mobile International

TI "Macromedia Flash has traditionally allowed developers to integrate video, audio and graphics into interactive applications that provide a richer user experience. With the introduction of Flash Lite 1.1, users will continue to experience a whole raft of compelling content on mobile platforms, further driving an even greater uptake of services. The robustness of the Flash platform, combined with the leading edge capabilities of OMAP application processors from TI, will be a compelling package for OEMs and mobile operators for a wide range of handheld devices." - Paul Werp, marketing director, Texas Instruments

ENDS

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