Press Release

January 09, 2001

OTTAWA, Canada - 9 January 2001: Three Java developers have had their entries selected as the best of the best in the Smart Device Developer Contest. Awaiting the winner is a BMW Z3 Roadster. The devicetop.com sponsored contest was created to reward and recognize excellence in the development of software for - smart Internet devices such as webphones, interactive TVs and set-top boxes, wireless devices like PDAs, and automobile telematic systems like in-vehicle Internet browsing.

The finalists are:

Mihnea Galeteanu, of Ottawa, Ontario, for his “Home Management System”, a utility intended to run in a home to enable numerous smart devices to be connected to the TV, which will act as a server.

Jason Lawrie, of Moorpark, California, for “Car Angel”, an application to guide drivers to a destination, find the nearest gas station or the closest fast food restaurant, or track past car movements.

John Mourra, of Toronto, Ontario, for “Tiles”, an application that creates a sliding tile game that runs on DeviceTop.

The three finalists will meet in Ottawa on January 17th, where the winner will be announced and walk away with keys to the BMW. Prizes for other contestants include Dell laptops, large-screen Sony TVs, and Sega Dreamcast game consoles.

Devicetop.com is an initiative of Espial and its partners to develop a vibrant community of third-party developers focused on creating services for smart Internet devices. The devicetop.com portal has become one of the top reference sites and forums for the Java developer community.

Espial’s devicetop.com partners include Sun, Intel, Motorola, Amiga, Tao Group, Internet Appliance Network, Pointbase, Java Report, Dr. Dobb’s Journal, and JavaWorld ™.com.

These three finalists as well as those active on devicetop.com are leading the field of the application developers of the future. By 2005, services and applications are expected to represent 77% of all appliance-related revenue as these devices become the dominant means of Internet access. Over the next few months, Espial will be offering more market exposure to the applications developed for the site. The contest was judged by officials from JavaWorld, Java Report, and Espial.