Anoto, subsidiary of C Technologies, to open Hong Kong office

Anoto, subsidiary of C Technologies, to open Hong Kong office Anoto is establishing an office in China to further strengthen their local presence in the important Asian market. Last year the subsidiary, Anoto Nippon K.K., based in Tokyo, Japan, was formed and collaborations have been initiated with a number of renowned partners throughout Asia representing pen, notepad and calendar markets. Jörgen Neckmar has been appointed president of Anoto Ltd to build up the operations in Asia, Japan excluded. Jörgen Neckmar will be based at Anoto's office at Two Exchange Square in Hong Kong. "Through existing agreements with strong partners like A'zone, Chee Wah, Daigo, Grandluxe, Kokuyo, Nippecraft, Pilot and Tjiwi Kimia, Anoto has already laid a strong foundation in the region. Asia's operators and the telephone manufacturers' local companies are, and will continue to be, an important group to support from today's standing to the supply of paper-based services to Asian end users. With Jörgen Neckmar now in place I envisage every chance of succeeding in realising a speedy and fruitful establishment", says Christer Fåhraeus, President of Anoto AB. Jörgen Neckmar was previously acting president of Ericsson Technology Licensing AB (which is Ericsson's Bluetooth Technology Licensing company). Jörgen Neckmar has for more than twenty years previous to that held key executive positions with for example ABB and Gadelius involving Europe, Asia and the U.S. "The interest in Anoto's technology has accelerated faster than we had dared to hope for and is particularly large in Asia. Since languages in this part of the world are not based on Roman letters but symbols, there is a natural interest here in the Anoto technology. I have professional experience from several large corporations in global markets and look forward to contributing this experience when building up Anoto's operations in Hong Kong and Asia", says Jörgen Neckmar, president of Anoto Ltd. China invented paper in 100 B.C. Almost 2100 years later, Anoto's digital paper and pen are being introduced in China in the spring 2001. There is a natural acceptance of Anoto's wireless paper and pen technology in societies and cultures where picture-based languages, such as Chinese, can be communicated instantaneously via the Internet and mobile phone. 100,000 new mobile phone contracts are added every day to the already existing 100 million mobile phones and 22.5 million Internet users in China. In such a market the prerequisites are excellent for Anoto's technology enabling the broad-scale use of easily transmitted information between people, paper, telephone, computer and fax. For more information, please contact: Christer Fåhraeus Jörgen Neckmar Birgitta Plyhm President President Information Manager Anoto AB Anoto Ltd C Technologies AB + 46 733 45 12 05 + 46 733 45 12 85 + 46 702 07 36 32 The Anoto concept intuitively connects paper and pen with the digital world. The concept consists of a pattern that can be printed on any paper, a digital pen with Anoto functionality that can read the pattern and record the pressure and movement of the pen, advanced image processing and the information structure pinpointing the pen's position on the pattern and which service the user has chosen to activate. Everything that is written on digital paper with Anoto functionality is stored in the digital pen and forwarded by a Bluetooth-enabled device (e.g. a mobile phone) to any computer or mobile phone in the world. The digital pen with Anoto functionality uses ordinary ink, but unlike the ordinary ballpoint pen, it also has a "scanning eye" consisting of an infrared camera and an advanced image-processing unit. The pen contains a Bluetooth radio transceiver. When writing with an Anoto pen on a paper printed with the Anoto pattern, digital snapshots of the pattern are taken continuously. Every snapshot contains enough information to make a calculation of the exact position of the pen. A digital trace is thus created by the movement of the pen. The digital pen with Anoto functionality does not only record what was written, but also how it was done. The application can therefore be used to verify and identify who wrote. The pen records simultaneously position, speed, pressure on the paper and the exact time. The information is transmitted, via a mobile phone or computer, as a graphical e-mail, fax, SMS or input to databases assisted by the infrastructure provided by the Anoto concept. The Anoto concept will be used in a number of services and applications. Later this year basic services enabling handwritten text to be transmitted directly as a graphical e-mail, fax or SMS will be launched. It will also be possible to save handwritten notes and Post-it® notes in the computer. Additionally the concept enables a large number of vertical applications, such as placing electronic orders, for example from an advertisement in a magazine, or filling in case records, order sheets and forms. Anoto AB was founded in Lund, Sweden in late 1999 as a subsidiary of C Technologies AB, which is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange O-list (Attract 40). The company currently has about 170 employees working in offices in Lund, Stockholm, Boston, and Tokyo. Ericsson holds a minority stake in Anoto and is also represented on the board. Anoto AB has created a de facto standard for digital paper. The concept is built around converting mankind's most common way of communicating, through pen and paper. Proprietary patterns, advanced image processing, Bluetooth wireless technology and an information infrastructure enables Anoto's system. Hand-written notes written on ordinary paper turn digital through the almost invisible Anoto pattern and can be sent directly through a computer, mobile phone, PDA, palm device or a fax. Even services such as paper- based digital orders can be handled with only pen and paper. www.anoto.com C Technologies AB (publ) was founded in 1996 and is a Swedish well- established high-technology company with cutting-edge expertise within the fields of digital camera technology, image processing and digital pens. The Company's primary product is the C-Pen digital pen, which has received several important international awards for best IT product. The C-Pen scans, stores, processes and transmits text to a PC, either by infrared or by cable. The pen can also translate, send e-mail, SMS and facsimiles as well as reading barcodes. The C Technologies Group currently has about 250 employees and offices located in Lund, Stockholm, Atlanta, Boston and Tokyo. Major shareholders include company founder Christer Fåhraeus, State Street Bank, Ericsson Mobile Communications and SEB Fonder. C Technologies' share is listed on the O- list of the OM Stockholm Exchange (Attract 40). The Group also comprises the subsidiaries Anoto AB and WeSpot AB. For more information visit our web site: www.ctechnologies.se or www.cpen.com ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/04/25/20010425BIT00210/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/04/25/20010425BIT00210/bit0001.pdf