Tegic Communications to Release New Upgrade to Industry-leading Chinese T9 Text Input System.

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 9, 1999--

Tegic Communications, the leading provider of Chinese text input solutions, announced today it will be releasing an upgrade to its Chinese T9 Text Input software which will include features such as component-based text entry, intelligent phrase completion, and alternate stroke input which are designed to make Tegic's patented text entry system even easier use.

Tegic will be demonstrating this upcoming version of Chinese T9 Text Input this week at the PT/Wireless Comm Beijing tradeshow (exhibit booth 5E07). The upgrade will be available in the first quarter of 2000.

"Our goal is to provide our partners with the best, most innovative solutions that will make them successful at serving the end user, "said Connie Wong, vice president of business development for Asia Pacific for Tegic Communications. "The wireless market in China is experiencing phenomenal growth and we will continue to be at the forefront of providing the industry's leading text input solutions for wireless devices."

For the Chinese language, T9 Text Input supports both, Simplified and Traditional stroke-based Chinese characters, as well as phonetic Pinyin and BoPoMoFo text input. In Stroke mode, strokes are grouped into logical categories on five keys. Since Chinese characters are written in a fixed stroke order, T9 Text Input selects characters from the linguistic database that match the user's strokes and stroke order. Phonetic Pinyin text entry utilizes the standard letters of the Roman alphabet while BoPoMoFo phonetic text entry utilizes a special Taiwanese alphabet.

The upgrade to Chinese T9 Text Input provides three important new features: The Component feature allows the user to compose Chinese characters through the use of components and radicals. The Component feature narrows the number of character possibilities and reduces the number of key presses required to input complex characters.

The Intelligent Phrase Completion feature leverages the Pinyin input method. It allows users to enter a short acronym that T9 Text Input automatically converts to a complete phrase. For example, the user can type "QHD" which is then automatically converted to the common phrase "Qing Hui Dian," making text entry extremely quick and convenient.

The Alternate Stroke Order feature aids users who are not familiar with the official stroke order standardized by the Chinese State Language Commission. The Chinese T9 database can still recognize desired characters, even when the strokes have not been entered in the official sequence. For users who have adopted a stroke order different than the one defined by the standards, or who make a mistake during stroke entry, this is a helpful and efficient feature.

In addition to Chinese, T9 Text Input is also available in a variety of languages including Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. Work is underway toward the completion of versions of T9 Text Input software for Eastern European and Middle Eastern languages.

Tegic Communications also announced today it will be demonstrating a prototype of its wireless instant messaging or "chat" technology at the PT/Wireless Comm Beijing tradeshow. For more information please see today's press release entitled, "Tegic Communications Demonstrates Wireless Instant Messaging Technology at PT/Wireless Comm Beijing Tradeshow."

About Tegic Communications

Seattle-based Tegic Communications was founded in 1995 to develop and market communication technologies for the telecommunications and computing industries. Tegic's line of products currently include T9 Text Input, the leading alphabet-based and Chinese and Japanese character-based text input software, and a recently announced wireless instant messaging application.

T9 Text Input is licensed to major consumer electronics and communications equipment manufacturers representing more than 90 percent of annual wireless phone production worldwide including Nokia, Ericsson, Benefon, Motorola, Bosch, Fujitsu, LG Information & Communications, Maxon, Memory Corporation, Mitsubishi, NEC, NeoPoint, Optimay, Panasonic, Philips, Qualcomm, Sagem, Samsung, Siemens and Sony among others.

For more information about Tegic Communications or T9 Text Input, call 206/343-7001, send e-mail to [e-mail], or visit the Company's Web site at www.tegic.com.

Tegic is a trademark and T9 is a registered trademark of Tegic Communications. All other trademarks or registered trademarks belong to their respective holders.