Watertek Becomes Second Chinese Distributor of ARM RealView Development Tools

CAMBRIDGE, England, July 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ARM [(LSE: ARM); (Nasdaq: ARMHY - News)], the industry's leading provider of 16/32- bit embedded RISC processor solutions, today announced that Watertek, one of China's largest providers of embedded systems solutions, will become the second company in China to distribute the ARM range of RealView(TM) development tools. Watertek will use its experience as an established distributor of tools for embedded microprocessor applications to distribute the ARM RealView products, which include software debug and analysis tools, as well as a range of development platforms for the ARM® microprocessor cores.

Watertek was established in Beijing in 1993 and has grown to include offices throughout China, including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzen. Watertek has gained a significant share of the embedded sector in China as a distributor of embedded development tools and has provided support for the ARM architecture for some time, particularly through ARM training courses and third-party development tools. With this agreement, Watertek becomes the second distributor of RealView products, after Impact Memec signed a similar agreement in 2001.

"We are seeing increasing demand for the ARM architecture from companies within China, so it is important from the outset that we are able to fully support engineers and developers with the best tools possible," said Jun Tan, president, ARM China. "Watertek is one of China's most respected tools distributors and it will offer a very technically-focused channel for the RealView family of embedded tools. This agreement will help to build ARM's presence in China and offer ARM tools to the widest customer base possible."

"This agreement with ARM is an important step in the growth of the embedded technology sector in China," said Liu Ming, executive vice president of Sales and Marketing, Watertek. "Emerging consumer demand is driving product development, particularly in areas such as wireless, and in turn is fuelling demand for the ARM architecture. By working together with ARM we will be able to meet the existing demand for ARM tools and provide support for the embedded industry as it grows."

About RealView Tools

RealView tools by ARM provide designers with the best solution for creating and analyzing systems based on ARM technology. ARM RealView tools are designed and used by the same creators of the ARM architecture. Because the tools are developed by the designers of the architecture, they enable the highest level of pre-silicon evaluation and development and the broadest range of support for future architecture families and derivatives. ARM RealView tools are fully integrated and provide a complete solution to any design or SoC integration challenge, giving the developer higher confidence in first silicon and a faster time-to-market.

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