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Cherie Britt, HP
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Valerie Enes or John Satterfield
Porter Novelli Convergence 
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john.satterfield@pnicg.com







HP Introduces MicrochaiVM Software for Mobile Devices

HP Works with QUALCOMM and Thales to Implement the CLDC-compliant Software 



PR021201H71



 
PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 12, 2001 -- Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HWP) today introduced HP MicrochaiVM, the micro edition of HP ChaiVM, a JavaÔ application environment for intelligent appliances. With HP MicrochaiVM, customers are able to download Java applications on demand to mobile and other consumer devices.

HP MicrochaiVM was developed for use in extremely resource-constrained devices such as cell phones, pagers, personal digital assistants and point-of-sale terminals. Industry analysts at Gartner Group have predicted that by 2005 client-side Java applications will either replace or substantially augment the functionality provided by today’s wireless application protocol in more than 90 percent of mobile applications involving complex user interfaces(1).

HP is working with QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), a leader in digital wireless communications and advanced electronic messaging solutions for the Internet, to implement HP MicrochaiVM on top of QUALCOMM’s Binary Runtime Environment for WirelessÔ (BREW) platform. BREW is an open applications platform for wireless devices that facilitates wireless-Internet convergence. Products developed using BREW allow end users to download applications over the air through their carrier’s network to personalize the capabilities of their wireless devices to suit their individual requirements.
“With HP MicrochaiVM, we have vastly expanded the range of information appliance applications that HP’s Chai Appliance Platform can address,” said William Woo, general manager, HP Embedded Software Operation. “Now service providers can generate revenue by providing Java-based connectivity to the Web and the ability to download Java applications on demand to mobile devices with extremely limited power and memory resources.” 

“HP’s decision to BREW-enable HP MicrochaiVM technology will make it possible for carriers to offer mobile Java applications on a wide variety of high-volume wireless devices,” said Peggy Johnson, QUALCOMM senior vice president of QUALCOMM and general manager of QUALCOMM Internet Services. “Upon completion of our integration efforts, MicrochaiVM should become a reference solution for providing a Java application environment on BREW-enabled mobile devices.” 

Thales e-Transactions (formally Racal-Transcom), the U.K.’s leading supplier of card payment terminals with more than 40 percent of the market, also is evaluating MicrochaiVM for use in its point-of-sale terminals.

“HP MicrochaiVM’s characteristics in terms of functionality, size and cost make it a very compelling candidate for our POS application,” said Phil James, technical manager, Thales e-Transactions. “It should enable us to implement the Small Terminal Interoperability Platform (STIP) API quickly and cost-effectively.”

HP MicrochaiVM is compliant with the Connected Limited Device ConfigurationÔ (CLDC) specification and provides a highly efficient software environment for executing Java applications on various small device operating systems. HP MicrochaiVM will support the Mobile Information Device ProfileÔ (MIDP) later this year. HP provides a comprehensive suite of consulting services to help device manufacturers port and customize their HP MicrochaiVM software environment.

HP MicrochaiVM has a minimum ROM requirement of 37 KB, with the CLDC implementation requiring less than 128 KB ROM. The small footprint required is complemented by HP’s patent pending Chaifreezedry technology, which allows Java applications to run in a concentrated form, reducing the memory required to support the application by up to 90 percent. 




Availability

The developer’s release of HP MicrochaiVM with CLDC is available today with the commercial release expected to be available in Q2. The commercial release of HP MicrochaiVM with MIDP is expected to be available in Q3. Linux, PalmOS, and PocketPC are the supported platforms. For more information about HP’s Chai technology or to download the software for evaluation, visit http://www.hp.com/go/embedded.

About HP

Hewlett-Packard Company -- a leading global provider of computing and imaging solutions and services -- is focused on making technology and its benefits accessible to individuals and businesses through simple appliances, useful e-services and an Internet infrastructure that’s always on.

HP has 88,500 employees worldwide and had total revenue from continuing operations of $48.8 billion in its 2000 fiscal year. Information about HP and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com. 

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(1) Based on Gartner Group report “Will Mobile Java Kill WAP?”, dated 8/31/00.

Java is a U.S. trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.
This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the possibility that the market for the sale of certain products and services may not develop as expected; that development of these products and services may not proceed as planned; and other risks that are described from time to time in HP’s Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including but not limited to the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended Oct. 31, 2000, and subsequently filed reports. If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes or any of these assumptions proves incorrect, HP’s results could differ materially from HP’s expectations in these statements. HP does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.