Macronix International Licenses ARM Core for Use in Portable Devices

CAMBRIDGE, England and TAIPEI, Taiwan, March 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ARM [(LSE: ARM); (Nasdaq: ARMHY - news)], the industry's leading provider of 16/32-bit embedded RISC processor solutions, and Macronix International Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq: MXICY - news), one of Taiwan's leading semiconductor manufacturers, today announced that Macronix has licensed the industry-leading ARM7TDMI® microprocessor core. Macronix will deploy the ARM core alongside its own extensive portfolio of logic Intellectual Property (IP) to offer portable device manufacturers a complete, integrated solution.

The relationship with Macronix reinforces ARM's position at the heart of the portable device market and further strengthens ARM's presence in Taiwan and the Asia Pacific region, which continue to be strong growth markets for the company. Macronix has chosen to adopt ARM® technology because of its inherent suitability for portable devices and its popularity in the market.

"Working with ARM, Macronix will be able to offer its customers the complete processor solution they are demanding for the portable device market," said JP Peng, vice president of Multimedia SBU, Macronix International Co., Ltd. "As a proven, industry-standard microprocessor core, ARM has a wide range of development tools and offers extensive support from its regional offices to enable us to deliver solutions to the market quickly and efficiently."

"Macronix plans to deploy the ARM7TDMI core in solutions targeted at a wide range of portable devices, from digital cameras to personal digital assistant devices," said Philip Lu, president, ARM Taiwan. "These devices demand well-integrated System-on-Chip (SoC) solutions offering high performance and low power consumption. Together, ARM and Macronix will be able to offer manufacturers an entire solution they can rapidly build into future products."

About Macronix

Macronix International Co., Ltd. (MXIC) is an independent semiconductor designer, developer, manufacturer and marketer of non-volatile memory ICs, including flash memory, mask ROM and EPROM products, and of logic products (for multi-media and System-on-Chip (SoC) applications). The Company provides its customers with application specific SoC solutions by leveraging its technological strengths and combining its expertise in memory and logic products. The Company's products are used in a range of communications, computer, computer peripheral and consumer electronics applications.

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 a 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 ARM7TDMI are registered 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; and ARM France SAS.

For further information, please contact Editorial, Michelle Spencer of ARM, +44 1628 427780, michelle.spencer@arm.com; or Jenny Markway of The Townsend Agency, +1-858-457-4888, ext. 106, jmarkway@townsendagency.com, for ARM.