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CAMBRIDGE, England, DALLAS, July 30 /PRNewswire/ -- ARM (Nasdaq: ARMHY; LSE: ARM) and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN - ; TI) today announced that TI has signed an agreement to license and develop enhanced solutions based on the new ARMv6 architecture. This advanced architecture, which has resulted from a two-year collaboration between the two companies, will enable TI to be the first to deliver increased system performance and battery life for next-generation (2.5 and 3G) wireless handsets by seamlessly connecting its programmable digital signal processors (DSPs) with the new ARM® architecture.

``TI, as a driving partner of ARM for more than seven years, has been and continues to be a key contributor to enabling ARM technical excellence. Their innovation and expertise in many markets and especially the wireless marketplace has helped us shape the ARM microprocessor roadmap, enabling us to better meet the growing demands for higher performance with lower power in the embedded space,'' said Robin Saxby, chairman and CEO, ARM. ``We expect that the combination of TI's industry-leading DSP technology with the ARMv6 microprocessor architecture will enhance TI's OMAP(TM) architecture offering as an important standard for next-generation wireless multimedia devices.''

The ARMv6 architecture enables high levels of integration between TI's leading DSP technology and ARM's advanced microcontroller architecture. The two year-long collaboration between ARM and TI led to the incorporation of several new features in the next-generation architecture to improve data synchronization, shared memory management, and the efficient operation of advanced operating systems (OS). These new features, along with others, will offer the increased performance and low-power consumption required to run real-time audio and video applications.

Full technical details of the ARMv6 architecture will be introduced at Microprocessor Forum 2001 in October. Product implementations of this new architecture will be available from ARM, as licensable intellectual property (IP) cores for implementation within its silicon and systems partners' ASIC or ASSP designs.

``For more than seven years, TI's dual-core digital baseband, based on TI's DSP technology and an enhanced ARM microprocessor core, has been the standard for delivering the best power and performance required to drive today's wireless handsets,'' said Gilles Delfassy, senior vice president, general manager, Texas Instruments Wireless Business Unit. ``By seamlessly combining TI's next-generation DSP technology with the first microprocessor core based on the ARMv6 architecture, we will extend this standard in 2.5 and 3G wireless devices including TI's OMAP architecture, established as the de facto standard for next-generation wireless handsets and advance mobile information devices.''

Unveiled in May 1999, TI's OMAP architecture delivers advanced wireless Internet and multimedia functionality, without compromising battery life essential to wireless communications devices. Today, handset manufacturers including Nokia, Ericsson, Sony, HTC and Sendo have chosen the OMAP architecture as well as software and OS developers including Symbian, Microsoft and Sun Microsystems.

In a separate agreement, TI has licensed the ARM9E(TM) Jazelle(TM) extensions. These extensions enable enhanced performance of Java technology-based multimedia applications used in 2.5 and 3G wireless appliances.

TI and ARM have a long history of collaboration in the wireless space including the licensing of cores from the ARM7(TM), ARM9(TM) and ARM10(TM) microprocessor families. This relationship has enabled both companies to enjoy significant success in the wireless market.

About TI

Texas Instruments Incorporated is the world leader in digital signal processing and analog technologies, the semiconductor engines of the Internet age. The company's businesses also include sensors and controls, and educational and productivity solutions. TI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has manufacturing or sales operations in more than 25 countries. More information is located on the World Wide Web at: http://www.ti.com .

About ARM

ARM is the industry's leading provider of 16/32-bit embedded RISC microprocessor solutions. The company licenses its high-performance, low-cost, power-efficient RISC processors, peripherals, and system-on-chip designs to leading international electronics companies. ARM also provides comprehensive support required in developing a complete system. ARM's microprocessor cores are rapidly becoming the volume RISC standard in such markets as portable communications, handheld computing, multimedia, digital consumer and embedded solutions. More information on ARM is available at http://www.arm.com .

ARM is a registered trademark of ARM Limited. ARM7, ARM9, ARM9E, ARM10 and Jazelle are trademarks of ARM Limited. All other brands or product names are the property of their respective holders. ``ARM'' is used to represent ARM Holdings plc (LSE: ARM and Nasdaq: ARMHY); its operating company ARM Limited; and the regional subsidiaries ARM, INC.; ARM KK; ARM Korea Ltd.; ARM Taiwan.