Integrates Macromedia Flash with ACCESS NetFront browser
AUCKLAND New Zealand - 23 May 2003 - Macromedia (Nasdaq: MACR) and ACCESS Co., Ltd., announced a licensing agreement to
integrate Macromedia Flash support into the ACCESS NetFront browser. The NetFront browser is one of the most popular and
broadly deployed embedded browsers in the world. Macromedia Flash is the leading rich client on the Internet.
"Through Macromedia Flash Player SDK licensing, companies like ACCESS can deliver an embedded browser that includes all
the leading web standards," said Peter Meechan, vice president, Macromedia. "By integrating Macromedia Flash into its
browser, ACCESS immediately enables developers to create rich content and user interfaces for its appliance customers."
"Macromedia Flash is the obvious choice for our NetFront browser because of its ability to effectively deliver rich
content in a compact format," said Toru Arakawa, president and CEO, ACCESS Co, Ltd. "By choosing an industry standard
such as Macromedia Flash, we now have access to not only a huge developer community, but powerful authoring software and
a wide array of content types that we can deliver in our embedded browser platform."
The Macromedia Flash Player Software Development Kit (SDK) has been licensed to the world's leading technology platform
companies and consumer electronics manufacturers. These licensees have integrated Macromedia Flash technology into
numerous products ranging from digital television set top boxes to PDAs to educational toys. The SDK opens up a
magnitude of rich content already available on the web and powers innovative user interfaces that can make any product
more accessible and engaging to consumers. By leveraging the growing Macromedia Flash ecosystem, SDK licensees have the
technology, tools and community to accelerate their product development efforts.
Since its release in 1995 of NetFront from ACCESS, approximately 86 million licensed copies have been shipped for use in
230 products (as of February 2003). Specifically designed for embedded applications, this multi-platform Internet
software module is incorporated in TVs, set-top boxes (STBs), personal digital assistants (PDAs), web phones, Intranet
terminals, video game consoles, smart phones, e-mail terminals, car navigation systems and kiosk terminals. NetFront has
been optimised to ensure that the information appliances and other devices into which it is incorporated deliver maximum
performance with limited hardware resources.
ABOUT ACCESS Co., Ltd.
ACCESS Co., Ltd. (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 4813) is a global provider of mobile content delivery and access technologies
for information appliances. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, its subsidiaries abroad include ACCESS Systems America, Inc.
in Fremont, California, ACCESS Systems Europe GmbH, its German subsidiary in Oberhausen, Germany, and ACCESS China Inc.,
its Chinese subsidiary in Beijing. Together with its foreign subsidiaries and contact offices in Korea, Taiwan and
Spain, ACCESS has pursued an international strategy promoting its NetFront family of browser software to operators and
manufacturers globally. ACCESS was listed on the Tokyo Mothers Exchange on 26 February 2001.