News release |
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Zi's eZiText™ chosen for CDMA implementation in China
Calgary, AB (January 16, 2001) - Zi Corporation (NASDAQ: ZICA) (TSE: ZIC) has announced a contract to implement eZiText™ in a CDMA handset destined for the Chinese market. The handset will be manufactured by HiSense Group Corporation, one of the 10 largest IT product manufacturers in China.
"After carefully evaluating all the solutions in the market, " said Gao Yu Ling, vice president, HiSense Group. "HiSense has chosen Zi Corporation to enhance our CDMA products because customer satisfaction is key to our success, both at home and abroad."
In early 2000, HiSense signed an R&D intellectual property rights agreement with Qualcomm, acquiring access to Qualcomm's CDMA technology. In addition, HiSense has been designated as an authorized manufacturer by Qualcomm. In September, HiSense advanced its CDMA development plans with an agreement with Hitachi. HiSense and Hitachi will work together to develop CDMA, Bluetooth, wireless application protocol (WAP) and IMT-2000.
"In head-to-head competition, Zi continues to win the trust of China's domestic manufacturers," says Kam Ching, director business development and sales, PRC, Zi Corporation. "As these manufacturers prepare to expand internationally, Zi Corporation is there to provide language expertise and local support."
HiSense Group was founded in August 1994. Today, HiSense is a high tech conglomerate engaged in manufacturing, scientific research, information software, satellite communication, commercial services and real estate. The company is engaged in several major product categories: televisions, telephones, computers, software, VCDs, DVDs, music centres, cameras, optical equipment, air conditioners and over 400 varieties of electrical products. HiSense sales in 1999 amounted to over US$1.3 billion.
Zi Corporation is a market-driven technology company focused on developing and delivering intelligent interface solutions and services for wireless and consumer electronics sectors. The company's core technology product, eZiText™ connects people to short messaging, e-mail, e-commerce, Web browsing and similar applications in almost any written language. The company's service division provides market-leading engineering design in Bluetooth, VoIP and man-machine interface. Zi supports its strategic partners from offices in Calgary, Beijing, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Shenzhen, Stockholm and Tokyo. A publicly traded company, Zi Corporation is listed on the NASDAQ National Market (ZICA) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (ZIC).
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For further information, please contact:
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Diane Phillips Zi Corporation Manager, Investor Relations and Communications Phone: 403 231-4575 Email: investor@zicorp.com Web site: www.zicorp.com |
Mr Gao Yu Ling HiSense Group Vice President Phone: 86 532 5842636 517 Email: xuzhifeng@hisencomm.com Web site: www.hisense.com |