Wave Arts' MobileSynth to Power Ringtones and Game Audio on Palm OS

Business Wire, March 9, 2005

BOSTON -- Wave Arts, a leading provider of audio signal processing technology, announced that PalmSource, Inc., a leading provider of software powering next generation phones and mobile devices, has licensed Wave Arts' MobileSynth(TM) audio synthesis technology for use in Palm OS(R). Palm OS licensees now have access to fully integrated sound delivery supporting the latest content standards for ringtones and mobile game audio.

"We created MobileSynth to get the most audio quality possible out of the modest processors used in today's cell phones and PDAs," said Dr. Bill Gardner, president of Wave Arts. "As a Palm devotee, I'm very proud that PalmSource has chosen MobileSynth to be the audio synthesis engine in future Palm OS products."

Gardner continued, "MobileSynth supports newer ringtone formats like MobileXMF, which offers exciting possibilities to phone manufacturers and service providers." Open ringtone format standards implemented by Wave Arts, like MobileXMF, SP-MIDI and General MIDI, are an important part of 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) efforts to bring non-proprietary content solutions to worldwide cell phone markets. These new developments in 3GPP standards make it possible to bring high quality, realistic sounding ringtones of popular music hits to cell phones at a fraction of the file size required by audio formats such as MP3 and WMA.

Palm OS will use MobileSynth for playing ringtones and MIDI content. Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME) applications running on Palm OS will use MobileSynth to create music and sound effects during interactive gaming. MobileSynth integrates seamlessly into the J2ME MIDP 2.0 Media API specification, which requires multiple simultaneous players with independent media transport controls.

"Wave Arts' polyphonic MIDI playback provides a best-in-class solution for bringing high quality ringtones in smaller file sizes to end users, " said Charlie Tritschler, vice president of product marketing for PalmSource. "We believe MIDI will enhance the user experience by providing rich ringtones and a high-quality audio experience."

About MobileSynth

MobileSynth(TM) is software that creates synthetic music for ringtones, alerts, games, and other interactive applications. It supports standard MIDI content formats for polyphonic ringtones, and supports the Mobile XMF and Mobile DLS formats for downloadable custom sounds. Written in fixed point ANSI C, MobileSynth compiles directly onto popular target processors, such as ARM(TM), and provides high quality audio synthesis while requiring minimal memory and CPU resources. MobileSynth consists of an API layer, content parsers, synthesis engine, and a built-in sound library. Optional audio effects include reverb, loudness maximization, and 3D spatial enhancement.

About Wave Arts

Founded in 1998 by MIT Media Lab researcher Bill Gardner, Wave Arts focuses on leading edge audio processing software for embedded systems and professional audio applications. Consumers will find Wave Arts embedded software in products ranging from Motorola cell phones to Denon home audio receivers. Musicians and recording engineers worldwide depend on critically acclaimed Wave Arts' effects plug-ins for their audio production needs. More information can be found at www.wavearts.com and www.mobilesynth.com.

About PalmSource

PalmSource, Inc. is the company behind Palm OS(R), a leading operating system powering mobile information devices. Approximately 38 million Palm Powered handhelds and smartphones have been sold to date worldwide. Industry leaders Aceeca, AlphaSmart, Fossil, Garmin, GSL, Kyocera, Lenovo, palmOne, QTech, Samsung, Sony, Symbol Technologies and Tapwave license Palm OS to create diverse mobile devices that meet unique customer needs. Palm OS has given rise to a large community of users, enterprises, developers and manufacturers, who together make up the Palm Powered Economy. More information about PalmSource is available at www.palmsource.com, www.palmsource.co.uk, www.palmsource.fr, www.palmsource.de, www.palmsource.com/es and www.palmsource.com.cn.

Wave Arts and MobileSynth are trademarks of Wave Arts, Inc. PalmSource, Palm OS, Palm Powered and certain other trademarks and logos appearing on this press release are trademarks or registered trademarks of PalmSource, Inc. or its affiliate in the United States, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and other countries. These marks may not be used in connection with any product or service that does not belong to PalmSource, Inc. (except as expressly permitted by a license with PalmSource, Inc.), in any manner that is likely to cause confusion among customers, or in any manner that disparages or discredits PalmSource, Inc., its licensor, its subsidiaries or affiliates. All other brands and trademarks used herein are or may be trademarks of, and are used to identify other products or services of, their respective owners. All rights reserved.