27 Feb 04

Sonim and Sony Ericsson are to collaborate to integrate Push-to-Talk capability in SonyEricsson phones, based on the Push to talk over Cellular (PoC) standard, ensuring the interoperability required to create substantial subscriber adoption.

"We're very excited to collaborate with Sony Ericsson to develop the new generation interoperable, standard-based PTT mobile phones," said John Burns, CEO and President for Sonim Technologies. "Sony Ericsson is in an excellent position to take advantage of the rich functionality included in Sonim's mobile phone software, providing attractive and user-friendly handsets for the rapidly growing PoC-market."

Sonim and Sony Ericsson are contributing members of the worldwide consortium that submitted the PoC specification to the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) on 15 August 2003.

Sony Ericsson leverages Sonim's expertise in Push-to-Talk and the time-to-market advantage of Sonim's client software in order to produce PoC compliant handsets that target a large mobile telephony market worldwide. The relationship will also provide the parties with a platform to further collaborate on product roadmaps for future generation PoC-based applications such as Direct Messaging and IP Conferencing.

"We support the OMA PoC standardization work, and in order to realize a standards based PTT application we will be integrating Sonim's PTT solution in our products. It provides reduced time to market owing to the proven technology and because its compatibility and interoperability with the mobile infrastructure," said Jan Wareby, Executive Vice President and Head of Sales and Marketing at Sony Ericsson.

"We are pleased to continue our work with Sonim to create the best, feature-rich PTT experience for operators throughout the world."

The PoC specification defined and supported by industry leaders such as Ericsson and Siemens is the standard for carrier-grade Push-to-Talk solutions.

The specification aims to provide consumers and business users a seamless Push-to-Talk experience, and the ability to enjoy the service with any enabled handset anywhere around the world. The Sonim PoC Client also enables mobile operators to accelerate their PTT deployment plans with the security of complete interoperability.