International Consumer Electronics Show, Las Vegas, Jan. 8, 2003 — MontaVista Software Inc., the company powering the embedded revolution, today announced MontaVista™ Linux® Consumer Electronics Edition 3.0 — the first quality Linux operating system and cross-development environment specifically designed for consumer electronics applications such as mobile phones, digital televisions, set-top boxes and automotive telematics.

“MontaVista Linux Consumer Electronics Edition builds on our expertise in embedded Linux and our experience in the consumer electronics market,” said Jim Ready, president and CEO, MontaVista Software. “The world’s top four global consumer electronics companies are MontaVista customers. In addition, several global consumer electronics companies, including Sony, Panasonic (Matsushita), Toshiba America and Yamaha have taken equity positions in MontaVista, which demonstrates a strong validation of our vision for Linux-powered next-generation digital consumer products.”

MontaVista Software is demonstrating a range of cutting-edge consumer products built on MontaVista Linux, from the world’s leading Consumer Electronics companies in Booth # 35179, in the Embedded Technologies Pavilion at the International Consumer Electronics Show, Jan 9-12, 2003 in the Las Vegas Convention Center.

MontaVista Linux Consumer Electronics Edition (CEE) enhances Linux with dynamic power management, rich consumer-focused networking support and consumer-grade reliability. It is designed specifically to address the needs of consumer electronics device manufacturers. CEE targets consumer device-specific processors and will initially support TI's OMAP1510 and OMAP5910 applications processors and the associated Innovator Development Kit, as well as the IBM PowerPC 405LP and the associated Arctic II/III Reference Board. Other processing platforms will be supported in the future. CEE forms the foundation of solution stacks from software partners in key mobile, home and automotive vertical markets.

CEE is tailored to the demands of highly constrained mobile devices, which require low power consumption, restricted memory size and short boot and resume times. In addition to the complete cross development environment that MontaVista provides with all of its three Linux Editions, CEE adds new developer tools for tuning system performance to enable higher quality end-user experiences.

MontaVista Linux Consumer Electronics Edition, based on MontaVista-licensed as well as open source software, is application-compatible with and incorporates all the benefits of the MontaVista flagship systems software product, MontaVista Linux Professional Edition. CEE includes the fully preemptible MontaVista Linux kernel and real-time scheduling, small footprint targets and flash-based journaling file systems.

“MontaVista Software is an important partner and MontaVista Linux has been contributing to our Linux strategy. The fruits of our relationship with MontaVista Software can be seen in our products that we are recently bringing to market such as the Sony CoCoon Channel Server. We welcome MontaVista Linux Consumer Electronics Edition as a catalyst and enabler for next generation digital home electronic devices,” said Masao Hori, deputy president of Network & Software Technology Center, Sony Corporation.

“The introduction of MontaVista Linux Consumer Electronics Edition validates both our strategic investment in MontaVista and Matsushita’s selection of MontaVista as a partner in building and deploying Linux-based digital consumer electronics devices,” said Ikuo Minakata, director of Core Software Development Center, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (MEI).

MontaVista CEE 3.0 incorporates dynamic power management features, file system enhancements and new tools to measure performance, system timing and memory size. CEE also features support for XIP (eXecute In Place) of the kernel and applications, as well as streaming media optimizations. It integrates with consumer market middleware such as the J2ME compatible WebSphere Micro Environment from IBM, and graphics packages such as Qt/Embedded from Trolltech and MontaVista Graphics. CEE also supports a vast matrix of best-in-class application packages for consumer markets.

“MontaVista Software has demonstrated its ability to deliver leading edge technology, stimulate product innovation and work hand-in-hand with its customers to enable industry-leading products. As the wireless industry migrates from simple voice-only phones to data-enabled browser phones that combine communications, mobile Internet access and computing power, we are relying on MontaVista to help us deliver Linux-based mobile phones to global markets," said Seiji Mitsuoka, general manager, Mobile Terminals Software Development Division, NEC. “The flexibility of the MontaVista Linux development platform will allow us to produce innovative mobile phone products with multi-media capabilities that provide a compelling experience for mobile users.”

CEE features Linux Support Packages (LSPs) for key reference hardware platforms, with rich support of integrated peripherals with power management enabled for all drivers. CEE will eventually implement LSPs for a wide range of CPU targets being deployed in next generation products.

More than 100 consumer electronics device companies are already using MontaVista Linux, developing products as varied as cell phones, PDAs, set-top boxes, Internet radios, residential gateways, automotive telematics and Karaoke machines. MontaVista Software’s current consumer electronics customer list includes Sony, Panasonic (Matsushita), NEC, and Toshiba America. Companies like Holland-based Zintec Holding and Araneo in Israel have also chosen MontaVista Linux for their digital television market products.

“Our customers are increasingly turning to both the Linux operating environment and power efficient technologies for their applications,” said Lisa Su, director, PowerPC and emerging products, IBM Microelectronics. "In satisfying those requirements, we've enjoyed a close working relationship with MontaVista Software, pairing their Linux offerings with our embedded PowerPC products. We believe MontaVista Software’s announcement of MontaVista Linux Consumer Electronics Edition 3.0 offers additional, exciting opportunities for our customers.”

“Linux is becoming essential for many mobile and wireless applications because of its flexibility and ease of use. TI’s wireless customers will benefit from the power management, file system and new tools of the newly launched MontaVista Linux Consumer Electronics Edition, which supports the industry-leading TI OMAP platform,” said Paul Werp, worldwide director of marketing for TI’s OMAP Platform. “MontaVista Software and Texas Instruments enable software developers to take advantage of the open and rich development environment of MontaVista Linux on the high-performance, power-efficient OMAP platform.”

Availability
MontaVista Linux Consumer Electronics Edition 3.0 will be available from MontaVista Software and the company’s sales and distribution channels worldwide in the first quarter of 2003. It will provide customers with the MontaVista Linux kernel, software updates, deployment components, utilities, development tools, access to the MontaVista Zone, comprehensive technical support and access to hands-on Linux training classes.

About MontaVista Software
MontaVista Software is a leading global supplier of systems software for intelligent connected devices and associated infrastructure. MontaVista powers the embedded revolution by providing GNU/Linux-based open-source software solutions. Founded in 1999 by real-time operating system (RTOS) pioneer James Ready, MontaVista offers a family of products under the MontaVista Linux umbrella that address broad-based software developer needs encompassing applications ranging from communications infrastructure to consumer electronics. Multiple Editions of MontaVista Linux are available including — Professional, Consumer Electronics and Carrier Grade — along with complementary technology products providing powerful Java and graphics development capabilities.

Headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley, in Sunnyvale, Calif., MontaVista Software is a privately held company funded by leading investors such as Alloy Ventures, US Venture Partners, RRE Ventures, WR Hambrecht + Co., IBM, Intel Capital, Sony, Panasonic (Matsushita), Toshiba America and Yamaha Corporation. For more information about MontaVista Software, please visit http://www.mvista.com.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. MontaVista is a trademark of MontaVista Software Inc. All other names mentioned are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of their respective companies.

Contacts:
Joe Samagond
Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications
MontaVista Software Inc.
Phone: (408) 328-9234
E-mail: jsamagond@mvista.com

Patricia Colby
PR Strategy and Business Development
Pacifico Inc.
Phone: (408) 293 8600 x340
E-mail: pcolby@pacifico.com