Longcheer And SavaJe Sign Strategic Agreement To Bring Java-Based Mobile Handsets To Chinese And European Markets

September 26, 2006; 03:03 AM

SavaJe Technologies, developers of the most open, Java® technology-based mobile operating platform, and Longcheer Technology Limited, a leading Chinese mobile handset designer, today announced a strategic agreement aimed at bringing Java-based devices to markets in China and Europe. Longcheer Technology, a wholly owned subsidiary of Longcheer Holdings Limited, intends to begin shipping devices based on the SavaJe Mobile Platform™ as early as Q4 2006 in China.

With more than 425 million mobile users, China is the world’s largest and fastest growing mobile market. The country will also soon license carriers for third-generation (3G) wireless, a move that industry analysts estimate will attract 130 million subscribers by 2010. The SavaJe Mobile Platform™ is ideal for 3G’s advanced services, providing users with easy-to-use and feature-rich capabilities, while radically simplifying and accelerating handset development for designers and manufactures.

Longcheer is one of the top independent mobile handset design houses in China, shipping over 5.7 million units in its financial year ended 30 June 2006. The company offers a complete suite of hardware, software and product design solutions to major Chinese telecommunications companies, which includes TCL, Konka, Gionee and ZTE. The SavaJe Mobile Platform enables operators and handset manufacturers to rapidly brand and customize mobile handsets that deliver high performance and advanced features, while shortening product time-to-market due to the cross-platform benefits of the Java environment.

Under the agreement, Longcheer and SavaJe will collaborate in the development and commercial deployment of two devices, S101 and S201, each based on the SavaJe Mobile Platform. Highlights of Longcheer’s S101 – expected to ship to PRC and European markets in Q4 2006 – will include a new touch screen user experience design with Chinese handwriting recognition and character entry, as well as integration with music download service, beeweeb. The Longcheer S201 – expected to ship to Chinese and European markets in 2007 – will feature a new design and form factor, and extensive user experience customization to accommodate a variety of worldwide mobile operators.

SavaJe and Longcheer have also formalized a number of initiatives to support the development of the S101 and S201 devices, as well as their introduction to global markets. Included in these activities is the sharing of technology resources, joint sales and marketing programs, cooperative software research and development, and co-development of a SavaJe variant with a Linux kernel.

“We see increasing global demand for our mobile devices, and in SavaJe, we’ve found a platform to facilitate the rapid development of an exciting, high quality product,” said Dr. Du Junhong, CEO of Longcheer. “The rich Java environment provides a unique user experience and the ability for operators to truly distinguish themselves, while decreased development time will allow us to continue bringing products to market faster and at a lower cost. Also, SavaJe’s global operator sales team holds strong partnerships with innovators such as Vodafone and others; these are relationships that we feel will expedite our handset deployment to markets in Europe, America and elsewhere.”

“Longcheer has enjoyed tremendous success in the past few years, and by adopting SavaJe’s technology, they have again proven they understand the desires of consumers and how to best respond to market dynamics,” said Gregory Koss, CEO of SavaJe Technologies. “Their selection of the SavaJe Mobile Platform is further validation of the competitive advantage we are able to offer operators and handset manufacturers worldwide.”


About Longcheer Holdings Limited

Based in Shanghai and listed on the Singapore Exchange Mainboard, Longcheer Holdings Limited is amongst China's top five mobile phone design solutions providers. The company offers a complete suite of hardware, software and product design solutions to major Chinese telecommunications companies. With current staff strength of more than 700, of which more than 60 percent are engaged in research and development, Longcheer has proven abilities to deliver innovative and cost-effective design solutions to its clients. The company has been named the 14th fastest growing technology company in China by Deloitte in 2005.


About SavaJe Technologies

SavaJe Technologies delivers the Mobile Java Experience™. The company’s SavaJe Mobile Platform™ radically simplifies and accelerates the development of highly customizable, richly branded and secure user interfaces across mobile feature phone handsets. This enables operators and manufacturers for the first time to fully exploit the branding, marketing and revenue potential of mobile phones. SavaJe is backed by leading venture capital firms, including Investcorp, VantagePoint Venture Partners, Ridgewood Capital, RRE Ventures and New Venture Partners, as well as the strategic investment arms of Vodafone, T-Mobile and Orange. SavaJe maintains global headquarters in Chelmsford, Mass. with offices in Palo Alto, CA, Cambridge, U.K, Beijing, China and Seoul, Korea.