Nokia and Metrowerks Agree on Transfer of Application Development
Technology to Nokia
Licensing deal, reseller agreement and purchased assets enrich Nokia's
offering for the Symbian OS ecosystem and endorse Metrowerks core
technology
Austin, Texas, September 8, 2004 - Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) today
announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a portfolio
of applications development tools based on the Symbian Operating System
and to license core development tool technologies from Metrowerks
Corporation, an independent subsidiary of Freescale(tm) Semiconductor,
Inc. (NYSE:FSL).
Upon completion of the acquisition, the development and support
resources of the Metrowerks tools portfolio for the Symbian OS will be
transitioned to Nokia. In addition, Nokia Inc. will make employment
offers to approximately two-dozen Metrowerks employees, who are experts
in these products. This will complement the acquisition by bringing in
the skill set required to develop and support the portfolio. The
employees will be located in a newly established Nokia Inc. office in
Austin, Texas.
Under the terms of the agreement, Metrowerks plans, upon closing of the
agreement, to license its core technologies, including its debugger,
compiler and award winning CodeWarrior(tm) Integrated Development
Environment to Nokia, and certain extensions to that core technology
related to the Symbian OS will be transferred to Nokia. Nokia intends
to invest in the platform-specific technologies, and also add new
features and support to the newly acquired tools. At the same time,
Metrowerks will continue to invest in and extend its core technologies.
The combined offering helps ensure availability and further the
evolution of the highest quality development tools for device and
application creation on the Symbian OS.
The anticipated transaction is expected to benefit the entire Symbian
ecosystem, resulting in faster time to market by providing a single
source for platform and device development processes. It also is
expected to help developers build a broader and more versatile pool of
applications for Symbian-based platforms such as Series 60, 80 and 90,
and Symbian UIQ. Consequently, consumers and businesses using Symbian
OS-based devices can expect to have access to a wider selection of
innovative applications.
"This agreement illustrates Nokia's commitment to Symbian as the best
operating system for advanced mobile devices as well as our support to
Symbian as the leading mobile platform for device creation and
application development," said Pertti Korhonen, CTO, Nokia. "The
transaction will enable Nokia to provide developers with a comprehensive
wireless tools portfolio, helping them to grow their mobile application
revenues. We are very happy to work with Metrowerks in this important
area."
The closing of the transaction, subject to customary conditions, is
expected to occur during the 4th quarter, 2004. Upon completion, the
suite of development tools for the Symbian OS based platform and related
support will be available through Nokia and its channels, both to
independent software developers as well as to the entire Symbian OS
ecosystem, including licensees.
"Metrowerks is committed to working closely with Nokia to enhance and
extend support for the Symbian platform with world class core
technology," said Matt Harris, President and CEO, Metrowerks. "This deal
is great news for the Symbian OS development community, and it gives
Metrowerks core technology a significant position in Nokia's wireless
development tools portfolio."
Metrowerks will be a reseller of the Nokia tools. The company will also
continue to serve the Symbian community with enhancements to its core
technology and with its line of CodeTEST(tm) Software Analysis Tools.
The transaction will enhance Nokia's developer offering, delivered by
Forum Nokia, by adding sophisticated, state-of-the-art tools for
developers and independent software vendors (ISVs) into the portfolio.
At the same time, Nokia will continue its close collaboration with the
current development tools vendors supporting the Symbian OS. Offerings
from those vendors are critical in covering various developer segments
and securing developers' freedom to use tools of their choice.
The employees related to the transaction are scheduled to become a part
of the Technology Platforms unit within Nokia. The new team will work
closely with Forum Nokia, which delivers technical and business support
to almost 1.5 million registered developers at forum.nokia.com. Nokia
forecasts it will ship approximately 100 million developer platform
devices during 2004.
About Nokia
Nokia is the world leader in mobile communications. Backed by its
experience, innovation, user-friendliness and secure solutions, the
company has become the leading supplier of mobile phones and a leading
supplier of mobile, fixed broadband and IP networks. By adding mobility
to the Internet Nokia creates new opportunities for companies and
further enriches the daily lives of people. Nokia is a broadly held
company with listings on five major exchanges.
About Metrowerks
Metrowerks Corporation creates CodeWarrior software and hardware
products and services for developers that focus on the consumer
electronics, transportation, wireless, and networking and communications
industries. The CodeWarrior product line includes hardware and software
development tools and middleware that enable customers to decrease their
time to market. Founded in 1985, Metrowerks is an independent subsidiary
of Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. Metrowerks corporate headquarters are
in Austin, Texas. Regional headquarters are in Munich, Singapore and
Tokyo. For more information: www.metrowerks.com
<http://www.metrowerks.com/>
.
About Freescale Semiconductor
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. (NYSE:FSL) is a global leader in the
design and manufacture of embedded semiconductors for the automotive,
consumer, industrial, networking and wireless markets. Freescale became
a publicly traded company in July, 2004 after more than 50 years as part
of Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT). The company is based in Austin, Texas, and
has design, research and development, manufacturing or sales operations
in more than 30 countries. Freescale Semiconductor's 2003 sales were
$4.9 billion (US). For more information: www.freescale.com
<outbind://10/www.freescale.com> .
--
Metrowerks Community Forum is a free online resource for developers
to discuss CodeWarrior topics with other users and Metrowerks' staff
-- http://www.metrowerks.com/community
--
Ron Liechty - MWRon@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
- http://www.metrowerks.com
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