October 22, 2003

News Release: Bitstream Introduces Alpha Version of ThunderHawk SmartPhone Edition

Bitstream Inc. (Nasdaq:BITS) today previews the alpha version of ThunderHawk(TM) SmartPhone Edition, its wireless Web browsing technology for cell phones. ThunderHawk SmartPhone Edition uses a server infrastructure combined with a small piece of client code on the handheld device. The server converts Web content into a compact format and sends it to the client on the handheld device, making fast and full-featured wireless Web browsing possible even with the wireless industry's current slow data speeds. This release brings to cell phones the display power ThunderHawk has already demonstrated on Pocket PCs. ThunderHawk speeds the reading of columns of Web text by eliminating left-right scrolling to finish a line and move to the next. And ThunderHawk makes it easy to find information because it maintains the layout already familiar to the viewer without re-flowing pages into one-dimensional structures. Besides its full-screen mode, ThunderHawk also offers a convenient split-screen mode, with the entire page in the upper half to orient the viewer and a highlighted area at full reading size in the lower window.

With its support for key HTML standards like CSS and DHTML and security protocols like SSL and 128-bit encryption, ThunderHawk SmartPhone Edition enables wireless carriers to provide complete Web browsing to their customers. ThunderHawk removes the need for operators to build a limited number of specialized or streamlined Web sites for end users. The ThunderHawk thin-client solution is economically appealing because of shared hardware resources, allowing for a low financial investment over time.

'We've now focused the time-tested Bitstream font rendering skills on the cell-phone screen, enabling clear and easy display of a Web page on a 176-by-220-pixel SmartPhone viewer,'explained Anna Chagnon, President of Bitstream. 'Wireless carriers can offer ThunderHawk to differentiate themselves from other carriers who deliver only text-based pages or WAP- or cHTML-based pages,'she continued. 'Our ThunderHawk SmartPhone Edition lets ThunderHawk customers, whether browsing privately or logging on to a corporate intranet, gain immediate access to the information they need, in a format they instantly recognize.'

About ThunderHawk

ThunderHawk is a client-server solution for wireless Web browsing across enterprise networks. ThunderHawk Enterprise Server gives a company's mobile workforce complete access to Internet and corporate intranet Web pages. Bitstream is working with key strategic partners in the computer and telecommunications industries and welcomes inquiries from other organizations who wish to license ThunderHawk.

ThunderHawk brings the desktop Web browsing experience to mobile device users. It allows a Pocket PC with a 320x240 color LCD screen to display a legible SVGA (800x600) or VGA (640x480) screen of a Web page. It also allows a SmartPhone with a 176x200 color LCD screen to display an 800x946-pixel Web page. You can view ThunderHawk screen shots at http://www.bitstream.com/wireless.

Bitstream relied on its 20 years of font experience to create this first wireless Web browser. ThunderHawk renders text using the Wireless Font Set, made up of high-quality fonts that render well at small point sizes on any display. The fonts are designed specifically for wireless devices and produce high-quality output for color LCD, anti-aliased, and black-and-white displays, fitting as much text as possible onto their small screens, as well as providing maximum legibility in such displays.

If your company is interested in ThunderHawk, e-mail the company at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., contact Bitstream at 800-522-3668 or 617-497-6222, or visit the company on the Web at http://www.bitstream.com.

About Bitstream

Bitstream is the leading developer of font technology, digital fonts, and custom font designs. Bitstream licenses its award-winning TrueDoc(R) and Font Fusion(R) technologies to Web and application developers, and to manufacturers of information appliances, wireless and handheld devices, set-top boxes, embedded systems, and printers. Setting the standard for excellence in font technology, Bitstream holds numerous key patents that cover the creation of portable fonts for the Internet. Building on this experience, Bitstream has released ThunderHawk(TM), a breakthrough technology for the wireless Web.

Founded in 1981, Bitstream is the first independent digital font foundry. In 1999, Bitstream created MyFonts.com(TM) Inc. (http://www.myfonts.com), the Web site for finding, trying, and buying fonts online. Also in 1999, Bitstream established Pageflex, (www.pageflexinc.com), the pioneer of a new direction in composition software: Web-top publishing. Bitstream has headquarters in Cambridge.

Note to Editors: Bitstream, Font Fusion, and TrueDoc are registered trademarks, and the Bitstream logo and ThunderHawk are trademarks, of Bitstream Inc. MyFonts.com is a trademark of MyFonts.com Inc., a Bitstream company. Pageflex is a registered trademark of Pageflex, a division of Bitstream. Other technologies and brand names are used for information only and remain trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

SOURCE: Bitstream Inc.

Bitstream Inc. Anna Chagnon, 617-520-8619 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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