Alan, from the NEC page this lists the contributions of the partners. Wind is at the bottom of the page. The problem as usual is that you can't determine whether this represents simply a license fee for Wind or whether Wind will actually receive run time royalties for an actual shipping product.
NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR ANNOUNCES EXTENSIVE INDUSTRY SUPPORT FOR ITS GEODE™ SOLUTIONS
Key Players to Work with National to Develop the Information Appliance Market
July 15, 1999 - National Semiconductor Corporation® (NYSE:NSM) today announced it has received widespread industry support for its new single-chip solutions targeted at the growing information appliance market. The first offering from National's Geode™ family of products, the Geode SC1400 integrates all the semiconductor content for a single-chip solution optimized for the interactive set-top box market. Future Geode products will contain feature sets tailored specifically to the thin client and personal-access device markets.
National's Geode family of products is expected to be adopted by many of the key players in the emerging information appliance market, including the Acer Group; America Online Inc.; Gradiente; Grundig AG; Legend Computer Systems Ltd.; Philips Electronics and Wyse Technology, among others. National is also working closely with application, operating system and platform developers such as Boca Research Inc., BSQUARE Corp., iCompression Inc., Liberate Technologies, Microsoft Corp., QNX Software Systems, WebSurfer Inc. and Wind River Systems Inc. to develop total solutions support for Geode platforms - helping to accelerate the growth of the entire information appliance market. In addition, National has a number of worldwide ODM partners lined up to manufacture Geode-based products for OEM customers, including such ODMs as BCOM, DT Research, Informtech, Supertek, and Tatung.
"National's information appliance strategy complements our ongoing strategy to extend consumers' connected interactivity beyond the desktop PC," said Anne Borsch, vice president of AOL Devices. "We think their Geode integrated processor chips and technology will allow us a full range of interactive services from a set-top box."
"We firmly support the work National Semiconductor and many of its customers are doing with Microsoft's TVPAK software for the television appliances, and with Windows CE for other devices," said Alan Yates, director of TV platform marketing for Microsoft. "National's IA-on-a-chip strategy is a natural technical fit with our software and a benefit for the market. We expect it to be easy for our shared customers to complete products based on the combination of our software and National's silicon."
In order to shorten customers' development times for Geode -based products, National is working closely with leading software and platform developers to assemble a supporting industry infrastructure that will enable information appliances to rapidly reach the consumer market. National is drawing on each of its partners' specific areas of expertise, allowing it to offer customers all the necessary tools for designing, developing and manufacturing low-power, easy-to-use information appliances that are optimized for accessing the Internet.
"I believe in the next decade that information appliances will be one of the dominant devices within the so-called Internet world," said Rick Lei, vice president and general manager of Acer's Computer and Consumer Products Business Unit. "National's Geode single-chip processor platform will enable us to create end-user devices, such as set-top boxes, that are easy to use and deliver the high quality consumers demand. We believe bringing Acer's XC initiative and National's Information Appliance-on-a-chip initiative together can create many business opportunities."
Philips Electronics, the world-wide leading supplier of set-top boxes and Internet appliances, has chosen National's new Geode information appliance-on-a-chip solutions as a strategic element in its Internet set-top box product roadmap. "We believe the new Geode IA-on-a-chip fits well into our roadmap," stated Gerrit Niemeijer, vice president of Philips Nettec. "Specifically, its performance and flexibility enable us to build products that are software upgradable to keep up with the fast-moving Internet world."
National's Geode Solutions
Designed around National's widely adopted x86-based MediaGX™ processor core, the Geode SC1400 information appliance-on-a-chip integrates digital video and the major PC functions, not including DRAM and high-voltage components, into a single piece of silicon. The x86 core is an integral feature of National's Geode solutions. This architecture delivers a rich Internet experience, complete compatibility with standard plug-ins and applications, and a quicker time to market than competing architectures. Furthermore, National's unique reusable core methodology enables application-specific chips to be customized for specific market segments and customers - integrating LAN for thin clients, wireless technology for portable access devices and MPEG for set-top boxes, for example.
"The Internet is growing strongly into the consumer market, with a lot of services available now. With National's Geode technology, based on the industry-standard x86 architecture, Grundig is able to bring a new generation of affordable and easy-to-use Internet appliances into the homes of millions of people. Grundig's experience in the consumer market, and National's technology and expertise in system integration, is the platform for innovative new products," said Dr. Thorsten Herfet, manager, Innovation and Multimedia-Systems at Grundig.
For More Information
For more information on National's Geode family of silicon and system solutions for the information appliance market, please visit our Web site at www.national.com/ia.
About National Semiconductor Corporation
National Semiconductor provides system-on-a-chip solutions for the information age. Combining real-world analog and state-of the-art digital technology, the company's chips lead many sectors of the personal computer, communications, and consumer markets. With headquarters in Santa Clara, California, National has annual sales of $2 billion and 11,500 employees worldwide. Additional company and product information is available on the World Wide Web at www.national.com.
Note to Editors: See attached quote sheet for additional industry support; For additional product information, please see the Geode SC1400 announcement that National Semiconductor also made today.
National Semiconductor is a registered trademark and MediaGX and Geode are trademarks of National Semiconductor Corporation. All other brand or trade names are the property of their respective holders.
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Additional Customer and Partner Support
BOCA RESEARCH INC.
"National's Geode integrated processor roadmap will allow Boca Research to offer information appliances designed to optimize Internet access for our customers. Our partnership with National Semiconductor, Philips, AOL, and Liberate Technologies on AOL TV(SM) has enabled an innovative technology for the set-top box market," said Larry Light, senior vice president of engineering for Boca Research.
BSQUARE CORP.
"We see the Geode SC1400 chip as an excellent technology core for the advanced set-top box market," said David Bialer, general manager of BSQUARE Corporation. "We worked with National to port Windows CE to the chip, and are very familiar with the broad range of capabilities in this new 'information appliance-on-a-chip.' Together with National, we will continue to provide OEMs with enabling software for creating set-top boxes powered by Windows CE and the Geode SC1400. Later this year, we'll release our software development kit to extend the capabilities of Microsoft's TVPAK and speed set-top box development for devices based on the Geode SC1400."
GRADIENTE
"National's Geode integrated processor roadmap offers the potential for system vendors like Gradiente to create low-power, high-performance Internet-enabled multimedia set-top boxes. Geode technology provides an attractive hardware platform, enabling high-value digital video services to complement Gradiente's expertise in television, DVD players, and set-top boxes," said Moris Arditti, vice president of Gradiente.
ICOMPRESSION INC.
"The partitioning of National's Geode SC1400 processor and iCompression's iVAC MPEG2 integrated audio/video/system compression technology is ideal for the growing consumer appliance and STB industries," said Neal Margulis, president and CEO of iCompression.com Inc. "This is the first low cost, high performance combination that brings time shifting and digital recording capabilities affordably into every home with a TV."
LEGEND COMPUTER SYSTEMS, LTD.
"We believe that the China market will be a major consumer market for information appliances in the coming years," said Jing Hong, vice general manager, Information Appliance Department, Legend Group. "National Semiconductor is no doubt the leader in the technology and manufacture of the 'system-on-a-chip' in the application of the emerging markets of set-top boxes and thin clients. We are very pleased to work with National on developing customized, easy-to-use information appliances for the China market."
LIBERATE TECHNOLOGIES
"National's leadership role in providing system-on-a-chip solutions for the information appliance market - coupled with Liberate's information appliance software platform - presents new opportunities for our customers," said Charlie Tritschler, vice president of marketing, Liberate Technologies. "It's exciting to be at the forefront, enabling network operators and appliance manufacturers to deliver a new breed of services and products."
QNX SOFTWARE SYSTEMS
"We are very pleased to be a key partner in National's global information appliance strategy. By delivering a complete information appliance platform, QNX and National are dramatically shortening the time-to-market for the next generation smart devices. In the post-PC era, information appliance manufacturers are demanding solutions that offer a rich multimedia web experience and a bulletproof operating system. QNX and National's new Geode processor family are offering a superior out-of-the-box solution," said Linda Campbell, vice president of strategic alliances at QNX Software Systems.
WEBSURFER INC.
"National's innovative approach to engineering offers WebSurfer a cost-effective platform with which to operate our software. National's highly integrated MediaGX processor has afforded us the opportunity to focus on advanced performance and superior functionality. We are excited to partner with National on their next generation Geode solution to ensure our future growth in Internet TV set-top boxes and other information appliances," said Paul Batra, president of WebSurfer.
WIND RIVER SYSTEMS INC.
"National Semiconductor and Wind River Systems both see the huge potential in the emerging market for information appliances," commented Dave Sheaffer, director of hardware platforms for Wind River Systems. "The combination of Wind River's VxWorks® operating system, Tornado tools, advanced connectivity software, and Geode hardware solutions from National Semiconductor provides a strong platform for the development of information appliances."
WYSE TECHNOLOGY
"By integrating key functionality into a single processor, National Semiconductor is helping Wyse deliver better thin client solutions to our customers," said Jeff McNaught, vice president of marketing for Wyse Technology. "As an important milestone in our partnership, we're excited about National Semiconductor's technological achievement and look forward to passing new benefits along to Wyse thin-client customers." |
