April 3, 2001 - National Semiconductor (NYSE:NSM), the world leader in integrated solutions for Information Appliances, today announced a strategic alliance with TriMedia Technologies to add world-class multimedia capability to National's family of Geode™ processors. As part of the alliance, National will license the TriMedia™ TM32A media processor core for use in all Geode products. In addition, National has acquired a substantial equity stake in TriMedia, a leading developer of processor cores and sophisticated software tools and applications for advanced digital consumer products. Together, the two companies will bring enhanced multimedia, video and audio capability to the rapidly growing Information Appliance (IA) market.
TriMedia's 32-bit VLIW (Very Long Instruction Word) core will be used by National's Information Appliance Group and be applied to the personal access device (PAD), set-top box and thin-client markets. Terms of the equity arrangement are not being disclosed.
"National and TriMedia are creating the ideal solution for high-end multimedia applications that is more efficient than increasing clock speed in the Central Processing Unit (CPU)," said Michael Polacek, vice president of National's Information Appliance Division. "The combination of the Geode x86 compatibility with TriMedia media processing capability provides the most highly integrated, best-performing solution on the market today."
"We are very pleased that National will integrate the versatile and high-performance TriMedia programmable processor core into their Geode products," said Cees Hartgring, CEO of TriMedia. "This will provide National's customers with critical technological advantages over conventional products. The TriMedia processor core is well suited for high-performance Internet-based applications such as streaming media, e-commerce, gaming, and other two-way interactive services as well as a wide variety of new television entertainment services such as video-on-demand and personal video recording employing an internal hard disk drive."
Rob van Oostenbrugge, executive vice president Philips Consumer Electronics and CEO Philips Digital Networks, said: "I am very excited to see the TriMedia core being licensed for Internet appliance applications. TriMedia's media processing technology, together with National's x86 processor integrated into a powerful Geode integrated processor solution, will surely be an industry leader."
With this agreement, National gains an immediate ability to extend the performance of its market-leading Geode product family by offering advanced multimedia processing capability. As applied to National's target markets --- thin clients, set-top boxes and personal Internet access devices --- the TriMedia processor core will enhance the performance of high-end audio, video, and graphics media processing.
National is a leading innovator in the Information Appliance market. Currently, the company has more than 120 active distinct IA design wins based on its Geode technology. Information appliances are wired or wireless devices that let users connect to the Internet to send email or share information without the cost or complexity of using a personal computer. Overall, the information appliance market is expected to grow 60 percent per year over the next five years -- approaching one billion units by 2005, according to market research firm IDC.
National's Geode processor and platform have gained widespread recognition in the industry as preferred solutions for information appliances. In January, the Geode processor received an Analyst's Choice Award from Microprocessor Report for being the Best Highly Integrated Processor of 2000. The editors of EE Product News, meanwhile, honored the Geode WebPAD™ reference platform as one of eight Products of the Year. Last fall, the editors of CNET and ZDNet selected the Geode WebPAD Metro from National and Metricom as "Best of Show" in the services category at Comdex 2000.
About TriMedia Technologies
TriMedia Technologies, Inc., develops and licenses VLIW (very-long instruction word) processor technology. Its TriMedia™ VLIW architecture processes up to five operations in every clock cycle and is ideally suited for demanding media processing tasks. TriMedia technology has powered 70+ appliances including digital television, analog television, advanced set-top boxes, video editing systems, digital video recorders, videophones, and home networking products. The company was established in Silicon Valley with initial backing from two leaders in consumer electronics: Royal Philips Electronics and Sony Corporation. Website: www.trimedia.com.
About National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor is the premier analog company driving the information age. Combining real-world analog and state-of-the-art digital technology, the company is focused on the fast growing markets for wireless handsets; information appliances; information infrastructure; and display, imaging and human interface technologies. With headquarters in Santa Clara, California, National reported sales of $2.1 billion for its last fiscal year and has about 10,500 employees worldwide. Additional company and product information is available on the World Wide Web at www.national.com.
