Parthus and UMC Announce Foundry Program for Advanced Bluetooth
Radio
Solutions to Power Next Generation Mobile Internet Devices
Agreement Allows Parthus' Customers to License Bluetooth Intellectual Property
Solutions on UMC's Industry-Leading 0.18 CMOS Process
SAN JOSE, Calif. and DUBLIN, Ireland, Dec. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Parthus Technologies PLC (Nasdaq: PRTH; London: PRH), a leading developer of semiconductor intellectual property for the mobile Internet market, and UMC (NYSE: UMC), a world leading semiconductor foundry, today announced an agreement that enables Parthus' customers to license its Bluetooth radio on UMC's CMOS process to power next generation mobile Internet devices.
Parthus has developed its innovative Bluetooth radio transceiver on UMC's 0.18 micron CMOS process. This allows Parthus and UMC's customers to have easier access to the tools required for the development of mobile Internet chips. Combined with Parthus' baseband intellectual property integrated on a system chip, this new development will also enable the industry's first range of second-generation single chip Bluetooth solutions.
The agreement allows a range of customers, including integrated circuit (IC) companies and OEM manufacturers, to license Bluetooth technology "off the shelf" from Parthus. By having this proven technology readily available from Parthus on UMC's CMOS process, OEM manufacturers and IC companies can realize significantly reduced time to market cycles and cost-efficiencies.
"The essence of Bluetooth is wireless connectivity across a range of electronic devices in a low-cost, high-performance package," said Kevin Fielding, chief operating officer of Parthus. "By making our technology available on UMC's 0.18 CMOS process, we can accelerate the timetable for the mass deployment of Bluetooth technology. CMOS is the workhorse of the microprocessor industry because it delivers a low power, low cost solution. Furthermore, as a UMC ASICplus(TM) member, customers can leverage the benefits of the program with this latest offering to develop a total Bluetooth solution."
"The Bluetooth market is seeing tremendous growth as consumers embrace the many benefits this technology has to offer," said Jim Ballingall, vice president of worldwide marketing for UMC. "Parthus' RF on CMOS solution makes an excellent addition to UMC's portfolio of resources that enables our customers to develop Bluetooth designs at a lower cost and within shorter market windows."
About RF on CMOS
The radio is a critical component of any wireless system, providing the antenna to the DSP link. It plays a key role in establishing the core wireless system parameters such as bandwidth and operating range. The need for a minimum-cost, low-power consumption radio that meets the Bluetooth specification is critical to the adoption of Bluetooth in mass-market products, such as cell phones and PDAs.
CMOS is a process technology widely used in the industry because of its ability to deliver an extremely cost effective solution, with minimum compromising of performance or power consumption. Parthus' Bluetooth radio on CMOS development is focused primarily on Bluetooth and GPS applications, as these lend themselves to low-cost, CMOS implementation.
In-depth device characterization and RF test circuit evaluation have allowed Parthus to leverage UMC's low-cost IC technology to deliver highly integrated radio solutions operating at 2.4GHz.
About ASICplus
UMC's ASICplus program is its response to the increase in demand from its customers for ASIC services. The first program of its type in the industry, UMC has teamed up with leading fabless ASIC companies to provide full ASIC services to system houses and fabless ASIC companies to provide full ASIC services to system houses and fabless semiconductor companies. The program gives customers the same advantages previously enjoyed by only large COT companies. ASICplus offers a value-added, lower cost alternative for the development of today's leading-edge ICs, focusing on front-end design solutions and back-end assembly and test services.
About UMC
UMC, a world leading semiconductor foundry, operates seven wafer fabs in Taiwan's Hsinchu Science Park. UMC's Japanese subsidiary, Nippon Foundry Inc., has one fab in Japan and UMC's joint venture with Hitachi, Trecenti Technologies, is readying to ramp production in its 300mm fab in Japan. UMC has also started construction on a 300mm facility in Taiwan's Tainan Science Park, with pilot production scheduled to start by third quarter 2001. UMC is a leader in foundry technology, with facilities ramping to reach an annual output of 2.4 million eight-inch equivalent wafers per year in 2000. UMC's joint development program with IBM and Infineon Technologies schedules introduction of the Worldlogic standard 0.13-micron technology this year. UMC serves customers around the world through sales and marketing offices located in the United States, Japan and the Netherlands. UMC can be found on the web at umc.com.
About Parthus Technologies
Parthus Technologies is one of the world's leading providers of complete platform level intellectual property (IP) solutions targeting the mobile Internet market. Incorporating radio, baseband and software design solutions, Parthus' unrivalled range of mobile Internet platforms are used by the world's largest microprocessor companies and electronics manufacturers in MP3, GPS, GPRS, GSM, 3G and Bluetooth applications. Parthus' broad range of platforms powers a diverse range of mobile Internet devices, such as cellular handsets, Smartphones, automobiles, personal audio players and PDAs. The company has leveraged seven years' of IP development experience to deploy platforms that lead the industry in terms of ultra-high processing power and low power consumption, and deliver significant cost and time-to-market advantages to its customers. Parthus is headquartered in Dublin with offices in six countries and is listed on the London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. More information on Parthus is available at parthus.com.
NOTE: ASICplus is a trademark of UMC. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Safe Harbor Statement:
This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Any "forward-looking statements" in this press release are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated. Any statements that are not statements of historical fact (including without limitation statements to the effect that Parthus or its management "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "plans" and similar expressions) should be considered forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from those indicated by such forward-looking statements include uncertainties relating to the acceptance of semiconductor intellectual property offerings, expansion of the mobile Internet market, deployment and acceptance of Parthus' services, development of alternative technologies and quarterly variations in results, and other uncertainties that are discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of Parthus' final prospectus dated, November 8, 2000, which is on file with the SEC and of Parthus' listing particulars dated May 19, 2000, filed with the London Stock Exchange and the Registrar of Companies in England and Wales and the Registrar of Companies in the Republic of Ireland.
Note From UMC Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements in the foregoing announcement are forward-looking within the meaning of the U.S. Federal Securities laws, including statements about future outsourcing, wafer capacity, technologies, business relationships and market conditions. Investors are cautioned that actual events and results could differ materially from these statements as a result of a variety of factors, including conditions in the overall semiconductor market and economy; acceptance and demand for products from UMC; and technological and development risks.
CONTACT: Richard Martin of Parthus Technologies, 415-317-2005; or Gary Byrd of Nadel Phelan Inc., 831-440-2414, for Parthus Technologies; or Eileen Elam of KJ Communications, 650-917-1488, or KjcomE@cs.com, for UMC; or in Taiwan, Alex Hinnawi of UMC, 886-2-2700-6999, ext. 6958, or alex.hinnawi@umc.com
SOURCE Parthus Technologies
-0- 12/13/2000
/CONTACT: Richard Martin of Parthus Technologies, 415-317-2005; or Gary Byrd of Nadel Phelan Inc., 831-440-2414, for Parthus Technologies; or Eileen Elam of KJ Communications, 650-917-1488, or KjcomE@cs.com, for UMC; or in Taiwan, Alex Hinnawi of UMC, 886-2-2700-6999, ext. 6958, or alex.hinnawi@umc.com/
/Web site: umc.com
/Web site: parthus.com |
