SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 10, 2003--E-Book Systems Pte Ltd, a world pioneer of the patented Digital Flip® technology, has appointed SOFTBANK Media & Marketing Corp., a subsidiary of SOFTBANK Corp., as the sole distributor of E-Book Systems' suite of enterprise e-publishing products in Japan and Korea. The four products are FlipPublisher, FlipViewer, FlipAnalyzer and FlipAMS (Ad Management System).

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Selected After an Extensive Comparison

SOFTBANK Media & Marketing Corp. (henceforth abbreviated as SBMM) began their search for e-publishing technology about 12 months ago. After an exhaustive selection process, E-Book Systems' Digital Flip® technology was selected and put on a trial run for 4 months with promising results. SBMM then made the decision to not only use this technology to deliver broadband content but to also represent E-Book Systems' solutions in Japan and Korea. For a start, SBMM will be releasing about twenty electronic publications (ebooks) for children in the Japanese market. This will be available during December of this year.

Masayoshi Son, CEO of SOFTBANK Corp., expressed his anticipation of the benefits of high speed broadband, "With high speed broadband we remove the obstacle that has traditionally prevented end users and authors from enjoying and providing multimedia rich content. This integrates especially well with E-Book Systems' Digital Flip® technology which further enhances the multimedia rich content by packaging it within a 3D realistic page-flipping book interface. I have high expectations that Digital Flip® technology will contribute much to the proliferation of rich media broadband content."

Mr. Makoto Okazaki, President and CEO of SOFTBANK Media & Marketing Corp., observed, "As SOFTBANK gets more involved in the e-publishing market, market research and consumer feedback have reflected a strong preference for ebooks to be delivered in highly interactive, multimedia content. Book as a media has been enjoyed by people of all ages from seniors to small children because of its high comfort level and familiarity. Digital Flip® technology uses the book interface and packages text, pictures, audio, video, and hyperlinks into one smooth multimedia experience. SBMM is confident that as broadband use becomes more widespread across the world, many more Digital Flip® products will emerge to revolutionize the e-publishing industry by its ability to deliver multimedia content to users in the broadband environment. "

"Since two years ago, we have been researching various digital ebook technologies and found Digital Flip® technology to be unique, flexible and best suited for the new broadband media that we are striving to create. We are very pleased to have formed this partnership with E-Book Systems and are determined to develop the broadband content market together, starting with Asia; the area of highest broadband growth."

Content Providers Endorse Digital Flip®

The first of such ebooks to be distributed by SOFTBANK is a series of children's stories by some renowned authors; amongst them Yoko Kitayama and Shomei Yoh; who wrote well-loved children's stories such as "Yuutakun-chi no ibari-inu" (Yuuta's Family and their Friend, Jinpei) and "Not Mines but Flowers."

Ms. Yoko Kitayama welcomes the transformation of her tales from print to screen, "This Digital Flip® digital picture book is a new product different from the paper and picture book. I believe the animation and multimedia capabilities in Digital Flip® technology will allow the children to enjoy picture books in an entirely new way. I particularly like the flipping functions that preserve the interface of a book, which is a vital part of the picture book storytelling experience. I look forward to participating in this exciting experiment and in seeing the reaction of my readers."

Mr. Richard Wan, CEO of E-Book Systems Pte Ltd, agrees, "Digital Flip® technology offers the best of the new and old worlds -- it combines the familiarity and ease of thumbing through a conventional book; with the visual enhancement tools of today's digital world. Being XML-based, our e-publications are able to cross-link pages, programs and databases making them great for all sorts of dynamic digital content. Both the Digital Flip® and the XML-based Open Flip(TM) are the perfect technologies for displaying and delivering content over broadband"

About SOFTBANK Media and Marketing Corporation

As an integral part of SOFTBANK Corp.'s comprehensive Internet initiatives, which also include e-Commerce and online financial services, SOFTBANK Media & Marketing Corp. (SBMM) is developing an array of online media and marketing services, including Cyber Communications, SOFTBANK Publishing, ZDNet Japan, Click2Learn Japan, and MPT Technologies.

About E-Book Systems Pte Ltd

E-Book Systems (http://www.ebooksys.com/) was founded in 1998 with a mission to bring the natural look and feel of the paper-based book into the domain of computers and the Internet. E-Book System's products make use of its patented Digital Flip® technology to deliver multimedia content such as digital photographs, text and music via a 3D Page-Flipping interface, which appears as a virtual book or album. With offices in Santa Clara, Calif., and Singapore, E-Book Systems products are distributed worldwide including the U.S., Europe and Japan. For more information, contact the E-Book Systems' by phone at (408) 625-8000, via e-mail at info@ebooksys.com.

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