QNX Partners with Akita Electronics Systems to Address Growing Demand for QNX Technology in Japanese Car Navigation and Infotainment Market

OTTAWA, October 26, 2005 — To address the growing demand for QNX technology in the Japanese car-navigation and infotainment market, QNX Software Systems today announced a partnership with Akita Electronics Systems, a systems integrator for the automotive electronics industry and a subsidiary of Hitachi. QNX has been selected for several new car-information system development projects in Japan, and this agreement enables Akita Electronics Systems’ highly skilled local engineering resources to quickly bring those projects to market.

“QNX is in the process of making a long-term, strategic investment in Japan and, to guarantee our customers’ success, we partner with local industry leaders who have the highest levels of technical expertise and corporate maturity,” said Andrew Poliak, automotive business manager, QNX Software Systems. “By partnering with Akita Electronics Systems, we can ensure that our automotive customers in Japan access the highly skilled, localized engineering services they need to deliver their products in the fastest and most reliable fashion.”

In recent years, QNX Neutrino has emerged as the RTOS of choice for several brand name companies in Japan, including Epson, JVC, Matsushita, and Sumitomo. In addition to Akita Electronics Systems, QNX works with a growing list of technology partners in Japan, including Access, IBM, Intel, Freescale, Renesas, and Texas Instruments. The relationship with Akita Electronics Systems allows QNX to better service its existing automotive customers in Japan and positions the company to scale for rapid growth.

“QNX has already become the leading operating system vendor for the worldwide in-car telematics and infotainment market,” added Andrew Poliak. “By working with Akita Electronics Systems, we can now extend our market leadership to the Japanese automotive market, where there is strong and growing demand for a operating system that can enable the connected, complex, and rich user experience that will define next-generation radio, navigation, telematics, and infotainment systems.

“We are delighted to work closely with QNX Software Systems on building advanced in-car telematics and infotainment applications,” said Soki Taguchi, assistant manager, software development department, Akita Electronics Systems. “Both Akita Electronics Systems and QNX are committed to providing customers with products and service that meet the highest standards for quality and innovation. We see this partnership as a cornerstone of success for ourselves and our customers in the automotive infotainment market.”

The QNX® Neutrino® RTOS, which is already used in telematics units for Acura, Audi, Hyundai, Saab, Daimler-Chrysler, and other major automotive companies, is the leading realtime operating system for the global in-car telematics and infotainment market.

About QNX Software Systems

QNX Software Systems, a Harman International company (NYSE: HAR), is the industry leader in realtime, embedded OS technology. The component-based architectures of the QNX® Neutrino® RTOS and QNX Momentics® development suite together provide the industry’s most reliable and scalable framework for building innovative, high-performance embedded systems. Global leaders such as Cisco, DaimlerChrysler, General Electric, Lockheed Martin, and Siemens depend on QNX technology for network routers, medical instruments, vehicle telematics units, security and defense systems, industrial robotics, and other mission- or life-critical applications. Founded in 1980, QNX Software Systems is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, and distributes products in over 100 countries worldwide.

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