Philips and ARM Announce First High-Performance 32-Bit RISC-Based Standard Embedded Controller Using 0.18 Micron Flash Process

Philips and ARM Expand Relationship With the Development of Single-Chip Solutions Based on the ARM7(TM) Family of Cores

SAN FRANCISCO, March 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Royal Philips Electronics (AEX: PHI, NYSE: PHG) and ARM [(LSE: ARM); (Nasdaq: ARMHY - news)], the leading provider of 16/32-bit embedded RISC microprocessor technology, today announced at the Embedded Systems Conference West, in San Francisco, Calif., a breakthrough architecture, integrating the industry-leading ARM7TDMI-S(TM) processor core with embedded Flash technology. Philips' embedded controller architecture, based on its state-of-the-art 0.18-micron CMOS embedded Flash process, will provide customers with significant advancements in performance, enabling more complex applications to be implemented in single-chip devices.

By utilizing ARM's industry-leading technology in a highly integrated embedded controller, Philips, with more than 350 ARM® core-based ASICs designed over the past five years, further strengthens its long-standing partnership with ARM.

The use of 0.18-micron embedded Flash technology by Philips enables operation down to 1.2V, resulting in major improvements over the current 0.25-micron/2.5V industry standard. This technology leads to faster processing throughput, a doubling of on-chip memory density, higher I/O bandwidth and lower power consumption. It also offers the potential for a 25 to 30 percent reduction in manufacturing costs, resulting in cost-effective solutions to the end customer. These improvements will significantly benefit a broad range of applications including connectivity, TCP/IP and software modems, display monitors and audio entertainment products, automotive cabin controls, as well as industrial and medical devices.

"From our interaction with Partners, we are seeing a rapidly increasing demand for ARM core-based single-chip controllers with integrated Flash memory. By Philips expanding its ARM offering with this high-performance family, we are able to meet these requirements," said Tudor Brown, chief operating officer, ARM. "This architecture will strengthen the position of Philips as a leading supplier of standard embedded controllers, and their expertise in innovation and manufacturing will broaden the application of current and future generations of ARM processor cores."

"Philips is committed to bringing to the market cost-effective, low power, standard products with great performance, as well as continued hardware and software support from a wide range of third-party tool vendors," said Eric McLeod, vice president and general manager, Microcontroller Business Line, Philips Semiconductors. "ARM is a leader in 32-bit RISC cores and has a large community of system designers familiar with its hardware and software. The relationship between Philips and ARM is a win-win for both companies as well as their large customer base for years to come."

The 32-bit controller market is one of the fastest growing markets with an annual growth of 24 percent, according to WSTS' 2001 Forecast Report. System designers are constantly seeking standard embedded solutions that are cost-effective and have efficient tools support. ARM, with its RealView(TM) product line, and other vendors, including Ashling, Hitex, Keil Software, Nohau and Phytec, will provide an extensive set of low-cost, low-risk and easy-to-use standard tools and development support environments for this new architecture. Customers who are migrating from 8-bit applications to higher-performance solutions will benefit from support tools that are compatible with their current development environments, and thus can be confident of a smooth migration experience. (See press release -- ARM Announces RealView Developer Kit for Philips New ARM Core-Based Microcontroller Solution - March 13, 2002)

Philips will develop a range of stand-alone embedded controllers based on a common system architecture in the fourth quarter of 2002. Features of this controller include ARM PrimeCell® peripherals, as well as enhanced real-time debugging with EmbeddedICE-RT(TM) software and the Embedded Trace Macrocell solution. This approach offers customers the greatest software and hardware re-use potential, allowing designs to be done quickly and in a modular fashion. Furthermore, with the integrated real-time debug features, customers will enjoy quicker system design and software development as well as higher quality manufacturing while minimizing their upfront investment.

About ARM

ARM is the industry's leading provider of 32/16-bit embedded RISC microprocessor solutions. The company licenses its high-performance, low- cost, power-efficient RISC processors, peripherals and system-on-chip (SoC) 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, handheld computing, multimedia and embedded solutions. More information on ARM is available at http://www.arm.com .

About Royal Philips Electronics

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the world's biggest electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of $28.8 billion (EUR 32.3 billion) in 2001. It is a global leader in color television sets, lighting, electric shavers, medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring, and one-chip TV products. Its 189,000 employees in more than 60 countries are active in the areas of lighting, consumer electronics, domestic appliances, components, semiconductors, and medical systems. Philips is quoted on the NYSE (symbol: PHG), London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and other stock exchanges. News from Philips is located at www.news.philips.com

ARM and PrimeCell are registered trademarks of ARM Limited. ARM7, ARM7TDMI-S, RealView and Embedded-ICE RT 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; and ARM France SAS.

For further information, please contact: 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; or Yen Nguyen (USA), +1-408-474-5100, yen.nguyen@philips.com, or Robyn Kao (AsiaPAC), +886-2-2134-2968, robyn.kao@philips.com, both of Philips Semiconductors; or Birgit van Gellecom (Europe) of Warman & Bannister, +44-1223-314-545, birgitg@warban.nl, for Philips Semiconductors.