Geoworks Inc continued its bid for domination in the smart phone software market by launching the second generation of its GEOS operating system, GEOS-SC, with a great deal of hope for the future. GEOS-SC is designed as a small footprint platform specifically for smart phones and supports a 32-bit RISC central processing unit. Geoworks touts the architecture as fully portable, with support for all proprietary chips from OEM’s and standard protocols and development tools including C, C++ and Java. GEOS-SC’s MessageCentral universal messaging architecture enables smart phone users to access to an array of communication features such as short messaging, e-mail, and fax services as well as conventional voice services. SC also has fully-integrated browser technology and enhanced graphics support. Although the new OS has been beefed up to a great extent, it is also lighter and more scalable, Geoworks claims. It functions on a minimum configuration of 256Kb ROM and 50Kb RAM, and the PowerMiser feature maximizes battery life. It also has a modular architecture which allows OEMs to choose which functions they want to integrate into their product. What all this means, explains chairman and chief executive Gordon Mayer, is that GOES- SC can be immediately shoehorned into pretty much any product on the market or under development, from simple enhanced phones to true smart phones such as the Nokia Communicator. Mayer sees a market that is polarized around low-end consumer phones with simple storage and messaging functions and high-end corporate devices with rich functionality. He feels that by taking a modular approach to his OS he can cover both those bases and everything that might evolve in between. If an OEM wants to add e-mail to a basic product because the customer wants it, it can be readily accomplished. Geoworks figures that the arrival of SC will cut an OEM’s time-to-market for a first product from 24 months to between 9-12 months. Geoworks expects the first SC- based products to ship within calendar 1998. It doesn’t expect any change in its royalty structure with the migration from GEOS to GEOS-SC, with an average of $12 per unit holding steady. Mitsubishi Electronic Corp became the first to embrace the new offering by signing a license agreement to develop products based on SC. Geoworks and Mitsubishi will work together on devices for the mature and lucrative Japanese market, starting with low-end offerings in the near-term. Mitsubishi joins other licensees which include Toshiba, NEC, Nokia, Ericsson, Canon and Brother. Geoworks figures it could have a deal in place with either Panasonic or Siemens in the coming months. It would love to bag Motorola but Mayer says he doesn’t expect that to happen. The Mitsubishi deal will add to this quarter’s financials, but that wasn’t unplanned, Mayer says, adding that he is comfortable with expectations for this quarter and next. The First Call consensus looks for a loss of $0.09 in the current third quarter and a break-even result in the fourth quarter.
