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RF Micro Devices Announces New Bluetooth System-on-Chip Solution with Enhanced Data Rate; Optimized for Mobile Phone Applications

RFMD's SiW4000 Will Deliver Up To Three Times Faster Throughput Than Current Bluetooth V1.2 Devices

GREENSBORO, N.C.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Aug. 30, 2004— RF Micro Devices, Inc. (Nasdaq:RFMD), a leading provider of proprietary radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) for wireless communications applications, today announced the highly integrated SiW4000(TM) system-on-chip (SoC) Bluetooth(R) solution with Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) for up to three times faster throughput than current Bluetooth 1.2 devices. With its small size, low power consumption and low bill of materials (BOM) cost, the SiW4000 is specifically designed for mobile phone applications.

Developed using a 0.13 micron CMOS process technology with inherently lower operating voltage, the SiW4000 consumes three times less power than current Bluetooth products. Low power consumption is critical to maintaining the talk time and standby time required of today's feature-rich mobile phones. Efficient memory utilization and small die size allow the SiW4000 to be assembled in an easy-to-use 4.5 x 4.5mm ball grid array (BGA) package, which provides a 40 percent reduction in size compared to current solutions and minimizes the footprint of the printed circuit board (PCB). Requiring only eight external components, including six capacitors, one inductor and one band pass filter, the SiW4000 lowers the overall BOM cost.

Michael Yin, director of product marketing for the Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) product line at RF Micro Devices, said, "We are pleased to announce our new single-chip SiW4000 Bluetooth solution with Enhanced Data Rate. The higher data throughput enables more efficient bandwidth utilization, lowers power consumption and broadens the applications for Bluetooth technology. We selected 0.13 micron CMOS to remain at the forefront of the technology-cost-performance trend. Furthermore, aggressive system design and optimization reduce the overall die size and lower unit costs."

Frank Morese, vice president of RF Micro Devices' wireless connectivity business unit, said, "The SiW4000 will significantly expand our Bluetooth product portfolio by targeting the high volume 2.5G and 3G handset marketplace, within which RFMD is the proven leader in power amplifiers. We anticipate our new SiW4000 will leverage the success of our current-generation, single-chip CMOS Bluetooth products, which are helping to drive approximately 100 percent Bluetooth revenue growth for RFMD this quarter."

The SiW4000 features Enhanced Data Rate (EDR), which delivers two- to three-times higher data transfer rates than the current Bluetooth 1.2 specification and is backward compatible with Bluetooth V1.1 and V1.2 devices. The SiW4000 also provides a coexistence interface to reduce interference with collocated 802.11 systems. The solution requires fewer external components for an overall lower BOM cost. An Enhanced Data Rate development platform will be available to select OEMs in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2004, and samples of the SiW4000 will be available during the first quarter of calendar year 2005.

Features of the SiW4000

-- 0.13 micron CMOS process for lower current consumption, smaller size and lower cost

-- Direct connection to battery for more efficient power management

-- Direct conversion architecture for superior performance, including lower spurious emissions and enhanced RF blocking

-- On-chip 50 Ohm matching network lowers customer costs by reducing component count and eliminating tuning and calibration during production

-- High-speed synchronous and asynchronous serial interface capable of supporting EDR data rates

-- Direct input from mobile phone reference clocks

-- Industry-standard ARM7TDMI(R) processor core

-- Stacked FLASH package footprint compatible with the ROM package

RF Micro Devices, Inc., an ISO 9001- and ISO 14001-certified manufacturer, designs, develops, manufactures and markets proprietary radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) for wireless communications products and applications. The Company is a leading supplier of power amplifiers, one of the most critical radio frequency (RF) components in cellular phones. The Company is also the leading manufacturer of GaAs HBT, which offers distinct advantages over other technologies for the manufacture of current- and next-generation power amplifiers. The Company's products are included primarily in cellular phones, base stations, wireless local area networks (WLANs), cable television modems and global positioning systems (GPS). The Company derives revenue from the sale of standard and custom-designed products. The Company offers a broad array of products including amplifiers, mixers, modulators/demodulators and single-chip transmitters, Bluetooth(R) products and receivers and transceivers that represent a substantial majority of the RFICs required in wireless subscriber equipment. The Company's goal is to be the premier supplier of low-cost, high-performance integrated circuits and solutions for applications that enable wireless connectivity. RF Micro Devices, Inc., is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol RFMD. For more information about RFMD, please visit www.rfmd.com.

In May 2004, RF Micro Devices acquired Silicon Wave, Inc., a leading provider of low-power highly integrated RF communication system components for the global Bluetooth wireless market. RFMD's Bluetooth product portfolio includes highly integrated single-chip Bluetooth solutions, which incorporate stand-alone CMOS radio modems and CMOS radio processors that leverage system-on-chip (SoC) technology to integrate the radio modem and digital baseband functions onto a single chip and eliminating external flash memory. RFMD is an Associate Member of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that relate to RF Micro Devices' plans, objectives, estimates and goals. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "projects," "believes" and "estimates," and variations of these words and similar expressions, identify these forward-looking statements. RF Micro Devices' business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including variability in quarterly operating results, the rate of growth and development of wireless markets, risks associated with the operation of wafer fabrication, molecular beam epitaxy and other foreign and domestic manufacturing facilities, our ability to attract and retain skilled personnel and develop leaders, variability in production yields, our ability to reduce costs and improve gross margins by implementing innovative technologies, our ability to bring new products to market, our ability to increase production capacity quickly in response to increases in demand for our products, dependence on a limited number of customers and dependence on third parties. These and other risks and uncertainties, which are described in more detail in RF Micro Devices' most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, could cause actual results and developments to be materially different from those expressed or implied by any of these forward-looking statements.

RF MICRO DEVICES(R), RFMD(R), Silicon Wave, the diamond logo design, the SiW product name prefix and UltimateBlue are trademarks of RFMD, LLC. BLUETOOTH is a trademark owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc., U.S.A. and licensed for use by RF Micro Devices, Inc. All other trade names, trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.



Contact:
RF Micro Devices, Inc.
Jerry Neal, +1 (336) 664-1233
or
Dave Bergevin, +1 (858) 404-7704
dbergevin@rfmd.com
www.rfmd.com

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