Lund, Sweden — (press release) — Axis Communications, a leader in network connectivity and mobile Internet solutions, announced today the release of the Axis Developer Board. The new offering gives developers of networked embedded systems a powerful, flexible and economical platform for rapid prototyping, development and deployment.

The Axis Developer Board is based on the ETRAX 100 system-on-a-chip, an architecture already proven in more than one million Axis products installed around the world. The Developer Board also includes an Axis-developed, embedded version of the popular Linux operating system, as well as the communications ports most commonly used with the ETRAX chip. These features let developers immediately test new applications without building their own hardware. This results in quicker time to market and faster validation of new product concepts with users.

The ability to combine the power of Linux with the strengths of the ETRAX (system-on-chip) architecture bodes well for applications developers. Applications for devices and systems from Bluetooth-enabled cell phones to vending machines, barcode scanners and building automation systems can be built and deployed rapidly and economically with the Axis Developer Board.

“With this new Developer Board, Axis is making available to developers a platform for rapid development of robust applications, bolstered by what we've learned in more than a decade of building and supporting products on the ETRAX platform,” said Peter Ragnarsson, Axis Communications president and CEO. “Axis is extending its leadership in the embedded systems arena, as a provider of premier technologies and support as well as products.”

Powerful, Flexible, Economical, Upgradeable

Open Source software, combined with the proven ETRAX 100 system-on-a-chip, offer developers an economical environment that supports familiar and widely available development tools. The Linux operating system gives developers access to hundreds of robust and proven applications already developed by Linux programmers around the world.

Developers are already using the Axis Developer Board to build devices that comply with the Bluetooth specification for wireless networking and applications. According to Frank Meyering of The Institute of Mobile and Satellite Communication Techniques GmbH, “The Bluetooth [protocol] stack runs very well on this system — better than on a standard PC running Linux!” An open, evolving specification for wireless technology, Bluetooth is already supported by over 1,800 vendors. Hundreds of millions of Bluetooth compliant mobile telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and information appliances will be in use within a few years, according to many market-watchers.

Axis will continually post new applications for the Developer Board on its developer Web site at developer.axis.com. In addition to the Bluetooth protocol stack, which Axis released in April, and the Journaling Flash File System (JFFS) released in May, Axis will also provide support for Microsoft's Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) specification.

Pricing and Availability

The Axis Developer Board is available now. Its price is US $449, which includes up to three support incidents. Support and other information is available from the Axis Technology Division at developer.axis.com .

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