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CAMBRIDGE, England, Aug. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- ARM [(LSE: ARM); (Nasdaq: ARMHY)], the industry's leading provider of 16/32-bit embedded RISC processor technology, today announced the availability of the industry's first independent intellectual property (IP) solution for the development of SD Card-based SoC devices designed using the ARM® SD Card PrimeCell® peripheral design methodology. The ARM SD Card PrimeCell peripheral represents the first product in a range of Secure Audio product solutions. ARM also announced that it has signed the Host/Ancillary Product License Agreement (HALA) with the 3C Entity LLC(1) and the 4C Content Protection for Recordable Media/Content Protection for Pre-recorded Media (CPRM/CPPM) Licence Agreement with the 4C Entity(2).

The SD Memory Card is a non-volatile, solid-state, flash memory device that is roughly the size of a postage stamp. At present it comes in 32, 64 and 128 MB sizes and allows fast, secure download and storage of all types of digital files. Companies such as Panasonic, Palm, SanDisk and Toshiba are among the leading manufacturers that are driving SD Card usage by providing end products that can be used in a host of consumer products including MP3 players, digital cameras and camcorders.

ARM's independent, soft IP PrimeCell peripheral includes a host interface virtual component and a secure software stack for a fast implementation of SD Card-based products. Semiconductor partners will be able to offer OEMs a quicker time-to-market for secure digital audio products that are built around an AMBA(TM) interface-compliant SoC solution by reducing the integration issues facing full system designers.

``We consider SD Cards to be a technology with a great deal of potential, due to their small form-factor and broad industry backing,'' said Chris Jones, PrimeCell product manager, ARM. ``Our solution offers silicon manufacturers the opportunity to integrate SD Memory Cards into a vast array of products, giving a secure, high data-density solution for next generation products.''

``SD Cards are important devices for storing images, motion pictures, music and all other types of data. Panasonic are developing a full range of products that will use SD Cards,'' said Sakon Nagasaki, director, Storage Device Business Development, Panasonic. ``By creating an SD Link which enables information linkage among various application products, Panasonic is providing its customers with value-added, feature-rich products. We highly value ARM solutions that can accelerate SD Card implementation and further enhance the SD Link.''

``The ARM PrimeCell peripherals have a proven record in existing SoC applications,'' said Ray Creech, president, SDA. ``We see the ARM solution as being a real boost for the SD Card market. PrimeCell peripherals enable OEMs to gain access to ARM's wealth of experience in application integration. Because the ARM PrimeCell IP block can be easily added to our existing technology, it will allow our members to bring products to market much more quickly.''

``The 4C Entity welcomes ARM as a user of CPRM to provide protection of content stored on SD Cards,'' said John Hoy, manager, 4C Entity, LLC.

``ARM's expertise in designing solutions adds a valuable extra dimension to the products that our customers develop,'' said Wes Brewer, director, Strategic Marketing for SanDisk. ``Its PrimeCell technology is extremely good news for designers of a range of SD Card host applications and we are very pleased that it is now available for licensing.''

The ARM SD Card Host Interface is available to licence now with delivery expected in Q3, 2001.

    Editors Notes

    SD -- Secure Digital

• (1) The 3C Entity LLC (Limited Liability Company) is the licensing company for SD Card Technology. It was formed by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic), SanDisk Corporation and Toshiba Corporation.
• (2) The 4C Entity LLC (Limited Liability Company) is the licensing company for the SD Card Security Technology. It was formed by IBM, Intel, Matsushita and Toshiba. For more information, please see http://www.4centity.com.

About The SD Association

The SD Association (SDA) was formed by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic), SanDisk Corporation and Toshiba Corporation to promote the adoption of the SD Card as a universal, global standard, for secure data storage and interchange. Its mission, as an open industry standards organization, is to promote the evolution of SD Memory Card, I/O Card and Applications through active membership involvement. For more information, please see http://www.sdcard.org

About ARM's PrimeCell Peripherals

ARM PrimeCell peripherals are re-usable soft IP macrocells developed to enable the rapid assembly of System-on-Chip (SoC) designs. Ready to use, fully verified and compliant with the AMBA on-chip interface standard, the ARM PrimeCell peripheral range is designed to provide right first time functionality and high system performance. Using the ARM PrimeCell peripheral range, designers save considerable development time and cost by concentrating their resources on developing the system design rather than the peripherals.

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, hand-held computing, multimedia digital consumer and embedded solutions. More information on ARM is available at www.arm.com.

ARM and PrimeCell are registered trademarks of ARM Limited. AMBA is a trademark 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.