SAN DIEGO, Sept. 22, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Bitfone Corporation (www.bitfone.com), a leader in over-the-air (OTA) update technology for mobile phones, today announced the release of mProve 3.0(tm), the latest version of the company's flagship mobile device management solution. The new version offers end-to-end feature and performance enhancements, making it the most flexible, reliable and easy to use firmware update solution available today.
"Our integration activities with the leading handset manufacturers and wireless operators have guided the development of mProve 3.0, making it faster, more efficient, and more powerful than earlier versions," said Gene Wang, chairman and CEO, Bitfone Corporation. "For example, the mProve Generator has been completely redesigned to create ultra-tiny Update Packages that, in conjunction with our new Update Agent, can reflash the phone at twice the speed, with half the memory requirements."
"The new flexible, customizable, and high performance architecture of mProve 3.0 enabled us to easily integrate without impacting our product development schedule," said Hajime Watanabe, General Manager of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Japan, Inc. "Bitfone has repeatedly demonstrated that they are responsive, flexible and committed to their customers' success, and this timely product release is a perfect example of that."
The modular architecture of mProve 3.0 provides maximum deployment flexibility, allowing users to select the complete end-to-end suite or select individual components for use within their existing device management solutions. The latest mProve evolution also leverages secure digital signatures to validate the source and integrity of each Update Package for maximum protection against accidental or intentional corruption.
Key features of the mProve 3.0 Generator include: enhanced algorithms to create consistently small and predictable Update Packages (on average, one to five percent of the original firmware image size); Definable Memory Zones to support advanced handset architecture that use non-contiguous firmware images, multiple memory chips or variable block sizes; and a new Command Line Interface for seamless integration into the manufacturer's BUILD process.
The mProve device agents have also been redesigned. The Delivery Agent is now more efficient and interoperable, containing Discovery, Download and Handoff Modules to exchange device parameters with the mProve Delivery Server (or third-party download servers) and download the Update Package onto the device. The enhanced mProve Update Agent, which performs the actual firmware update on the device in a fault-tolerant manner, is faster, more secure, and now OTA updateable, making the mProve investment "future-proof".
Bitfone recently announced a new carrier-grade storage and lifecycle management component for mProve 3.0, named PRISM(tm) (Package Repository and Intelligent State Manager). It offers a Web console for customizing and managing the workflow of Update Packages from creation to deployment to retirement. PRISM also maintains comprehensive transaction logging for auditing purposes.
The mProve 3.0 Delivery Server, which transfers Update Packages between the mProve PRISM and the mobile device, now offers a Smart Cache feature to reduce network congestion by storing the most frequently requested Update Packages across distributed servers. It also supports the industry standard OMA Download Specification 1.0 for interoperability with third-party download clients. mProve 3.0 also introduces the mTest Toolbox, which enhances the quality assurance process by simulating updates in a PC environment to ensure byte-for-byte accuracy of the target firmware images.
Bitfone will demonstrate mProve 3.0 as an exhibitor at the International Wireless Symposium on September 22-23, at the San Diego Convention Center in Southern California. Bitfone CEO Gene Wang is also scheduled to participate in a Roundtable Discussion titled "Entering New Markets with Competitive Solutions, Products and Services" on Tuesday, September 23.
About Bitfone Corporation
Bitfone Corporation provides innovative software solutions for mobile device management. Bitfone's mProve(tm) is the wireless industry's leading technology that updates a mobile phone's core embedded operating system over the air, in a secure and fault-tolerant manner. mProve offers wireless manufacturers and carriers significant cost savings in the areas of warranty, recall and customer service, and expedites the time to market for mobile phones. Bitfone is a global company headquartered in Laguna Niguel, California, with offices in China, Finland, Japan and Korea. Bitfone's investors include Nokia Venture Partners, St. Paul Venture Capital, 3i, Nexit Ventures, Motorola, Inc., Orange Ventures, KTB Ventures and CIR Ventures. For more information, please visit www.bitfone.com.