Fraunhofer IIS Technology Included in New Palm Treo 700p Smartphone.

ERLANGEN, Germany -- Fraunhofer IIS MPEG-4 Audio and Video Coding Technology is helping Palm, Inc. enhance its multimedia offerings in the new Palm Treo 700p smartphone. With MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding and MPEG-4 Audio Coding, the new Treo 700p smartphone supports the most efficient compression schemes standardized by MPEG and the ITU. They offer optimal audiovisual quality at lowest bit rates and transmission costs.

Harald Popp, head of the Multimedia Realtime Systems department at Fraunhofer IIS, stated "This MPEG-4 technology is a must have for any multimedia capable handheld device, and we are glad to see Palm including it in its new Treo 700p smartphone."

As the first Palm OS based Treo smartphone, the Treo 700p uses its fast data connection to speed streaming multimedia content(1). It ships with Palm's first built-in streaming application. Treo 700p users also can take advantage of broadbandlike speeds on their laptop computers by using the new smartphone as a wireless modem via USB or Bluetooth wireless technology. By using SD memory cards in addition to the 128 MB of built-in memory (60 MB user available), users have plenty of room to download and carry important documents and multimedia content. More information about the Palm Treo 700p smartphone can be found at www.palm.com/Treo700p.

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft founded in 1949 is one of the leading organizations of applied research in Europe. It operates 58 national research establishments and numerous international centers. The headquarters are located in Munich, Germany. Most of the 12 700 staff members are scientists and engineers.

Fraunhofer IIS Founded in 1985 the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Erlangen, today with 450 staff members, ranks first among the Fraunhofer Institutes concerning headcount and revenues. With the development of the audio coding method MP3, Fraunhofer IIS has reached worldwide recognition. It provides research services on contract basis and technology licensing. The research topics are: Audio and video source coding, multimedia realtime systems, digital radio broadcasting and digital cinema systems, integrated circuits and sensor systems, design automation, wireless, wired and optical networks, localization and navigation, imaging systems and nanofocus X-ray technology, high-speed cameras, medical sensor solutions and communications technology in transport and logistics. The budget of 52 million Euro is mainly financed by projects from industry, the service sector and public authorities. Less than 20 percent of the budget is subsidized by federal and state funds.

For more information visit www.iis.fraunhofer.de

Palm, Palm OS and Treo are among the trademarks or registered trademarks owned by or licensed to Palm, Inc.

(1) Within wireless coverage area only. Email and web require data services from a mobile service provider at an additional cost. VPN may also be required. Outlookemail requires Microsoft Exchange Server 2003.