Devicetop.com, supported by Sun, Intel, Motorola, Amiga, Tao Group, IAN, Pointbase, Dr. Dobb's, Java Report, and JavaWorld.com(tm), Marks Portal Launch

June 5, 2000, JavaOne(SM) Conference, San Francisco - Espial, a market leader in infrastructure software for the pervasive internet, today unveiled Devicetop.com, an internet portal dedicated to Java (tm) technology developers of Web content and application services for internet smart appliances. Devicetop.com is poised to become a premier Internet destination for developers interested in extending their programming skills from the PC desktop to post-PC devices.

Devicetop.com is an initiative of Espial supported by Sun, Intel, Motorola, Amiga, Tao Group, Internet Appliance Network (IAN), Pointbase, Java Report, Dr. Dobb's, and JavaWorld.com (tm), to develop a vibrant community of third-party developers focused on creating services for smart devices. The Devicetop.com portal will be launched in conjunction with the JavaOne(SM) 2000 Developer Conference in San Francisco, the premier global event for Java technology developers.

According to a recent report from International Data Corporation (IDC), the market for internet appliances is poised to explode over the next several years. This market is expected to become an annual 55 million unit market and $15 billion market in the US by the year 2001. By 2002, shipments of consumer internet appliances will exceed consumer PC shipments. The internet appliance market includes handheld PDAs, wireless smartphones, internet screenphones, web tablets, game consoles, in-car computing, and interactive TV set-top boxes. The predicted explosion of the information appliance market and the Java platform being viewed as the de facto standard for creating third-party developer community and applications, means that a portal such as Devicetop.com will serve as a catalyst for the growth of the information appliance market.

"The smart-device market is in a rapidly expanding stage, bringing with it developments that promise to revolutionize the way we work and communicate on a daily basis," states Mal Raddalgoda, senior director of strategic marketing at Espial. "The opportunities for creating and developing smart-device services are limitless and we want to help developers move quickly from the desktop to devices. The Devicetop.com portal is the next step to achieving Espial's vision of universal service management for smart devices where the combination of service-enabled smart devices, the Internet, and a broad array of services for devices will drive the deployment of a new generation of telecommunication services."

About Devicetop.com

Devicetop.com is a premier web portal for developers of services for smart-devices. Devicetop.com offers a hub for news, industry information, discussion forums, technical tutorials, and software development tools for developers to learn, communicate, and create web content and application services. Devicetop.com provides developers with a global marketing venue to showcase their services to leading consumer electronics manufacturers, ISPs and network operators.

The Devicetop.com BMW Z3 Contest Giveaway

Devicetop.com will be giving away a BMW Z3 Roadster to the developer who uploads the best Java technology-based smart device application to the Devicetop.com portal. The contest finalists will be determined by a vote of the members of the Devicetop.com portal.

Devicetop.com Partners

The Devicetop.com Partner Program is a point of convergence for industry-leading companies that are focused on creating solutions for the post-PC world. Sponsors of this initiative include Sun Microsystems, Intel, Motorola, Amiga, Tao, Pointbase and IAN.

"Every day more and more products are leveraging the power of the Internet, moving us towards a world of millions of connected, smart wireless devices," commented Farooq Butt, Strategic Business Development manager of Motorola SPS. "Motorola's DigitalDNAÔ wireless software and hardware solutions, coupled with Espial's innovative developer portal strategy, provide a great boost to developers everywhere targeting the exploding Java technology-enabled smart wireless device market."

"We are very pleased to be a founding sponsor of Devicetop.com" stated Francis Charig, chairman of Tao Group. "We believe that this bold initiative will make significant contributions to the Information appliance community. With the creation of the Devicetop.com portal, Espial, Amiga and Tao Group are strongly committed to promoting the development of interactive and multimedia content, applications and solutions for smart devices."

"Amiga, Inc. and the Amiga community are excited to be a part of Devicetop.com. Working with Espial and the Tao Group, we will unite the Amiga and Java development community and leverage the broad talent pool of Java technology developers who continue to lead the way in the creation of innovative software products," commented Bill McEwen, President and CEO, Amiga, Inc. "Amiga's involvement with this initiative will leverage the wealth of content, and expertise build new, highly innovative applications for the next generation Amiga platform."

"Our partnership with Espial for Devicetop.com marks the creation of an exciting new virtual community for those developing applications and services for smart devices," said Audrey Parma, President of IAN. "Java technology is a key component in developing truly innovative smart devices, allowing IAN's marketing solutions platform to remain device agnostic. We are excited to be part of this initiative that offers the potential for the development of the most promising device services for the Internet appliance market."

"There is a growing interest on the part of enterprises to deploy applications out onto Internet appliances and mobile wireless devices," said Bruce Scott, president and CEO, Pointbase. "All of these applications will require advanced data management and synchronization technology to meet the needs of users on a global scale. Our involvement with Espial and Devicetop.com in this initiative will result in helping developers create and deploy the cross-platform data management facilities needed for the wave of distributed mobile applications we see emerging over the next few years."

Devicetop.com Media Partners

The Devicetop.com Media Partner Program consists of best-of-breed media companies well positioned with high quality content to lead this new era of Internet appliances. Media sponsorship in this initiative allows us to leverage what we've learned by helping developers create embedded products (including internet appliances) and apply that knowledge to developing leading edge and valuable Java technology and consumer device content.

"As the first magazine to cover the Java language in serious depth, and a long-time advocate of embedded technologies and the promise of smart appliances, DDJ is excited to be a part of a program that encourages development between these two worlds."

"As a member of this smart device service community, Java Report, in conjunction with Espial, is dedicated to helping promote this forum as a place for developers to learn, communicate, create, and provide application services to the Internet appliance community," said Dwight Deugo, editor-in-chief, Java Report. "Joining this initiative demonstrates Java Report's dedication to contributing to the development and deployment of enhanced smart devices."

"Espial has taken on a missionary role in creating a long-term affinity with the Java technology developer community. Community thrives and prospers best based on access to in-depth technical information," said Carolyn Wong, editor-in-chief of JavaWorld.com. "Providing how-to tutorials is what we do best and why we are contributing this value to the growth of the development of Java technology-based applications for devices."

For more information on how to become part of the Strategic Partner or Media Partner Programs, contact Jill Meloche, web marketing manager for Devicetop.com, at jmeloche@espial.com or 613.230.4770 x141.

Espial

A market leader in infrastructure software for the pervasive Internet, Espial offers a universal end-to-end service-management solution for smart devices. This includes core applications and development tools for device manufacturers like Espial Devicetop(tm), a service-enabled platform, and Espial Escape(TM), the world's most advanced web browser. It also includes Espial DeviceServer(TM), a service-management platform that allows service providers to deliver and manage content and application services to a wide variety of smart devices, including set-top boxes, screenphones, gaming consoles, smart cars, and handheld devices. Visit www.espial.com.

Espial products are supported on leading device operating systems and Java virtual machine implementations from companies such as Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) - WinCE, Linux - Redhat (NASDAQ: RHAT), Symbian - EPOC32, Wind River (NASDAQ: WIND) - VxWorks and pSOS, QNX - QNX 4 and Neutrino, Microware (NASDAQ: MWAR) - OS9, Be - (NASDAQ: BEOS) - BEOS, Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: SUNW) - Java platform, Tao Group -- intent (tm) and Insignia (NASDAQ: INSGY) - Jeode.

Note to editors: Espial, Espial Escape, Espial Espresso, Espial DeviceTop, and Espial DeviceServer are trademarks of Espial Group Inc. Java and all other Java-based trademarks are registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.

Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun Logo, Java, JavaWorld and JavaOne are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.