SEP 12,2000 5:06 PACIFIC 8:06 EASTERN
...oddly enough in the current "dell4me.com browser" magazine, there is an article entitled "wireless wonders never cease"...featuring a central photo of a "palm v"....and a "dell" branded digital audio wireless receiver....talk about cutting edge!
( BW)(TX-CIRRUS-LOGIC)(CRUS) Cirrus Logic Shoots Past Millionth
Maverick Milestone in Six Months -- Enables the Internet Audio
Entertainment Revolution
Business Editors & High-Tech/Entertainment Writers
NOTE: A PHOTO relating to this story will be available for
journalists to download today at www.newstream.com
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 12, 2000--Cirrus Logic Inc.
(Nasdaq:CRUS) announced today that after only six months of
production, it shipped its millionth Maverick(tm) processor.
Maverick chips are designed into a variety of Internet
entertainment devices including the leading portable Internet audio
players, network-based home players, digital car audio players,
eBooks, Web-based entertainment and Personal Digital Assistants
(PDAs).
"Although Maverick processors have been on the market a mere six
months, they power two of the top three portable digital music
players, the S3 Diamond Multi-Media Rio 600 and Creative Labs' Nomad
II family," said Mike Paxton, senior analyst for Cahners In-Stat
Group. "Creative and S3 Diamond Rio account for 60 percent of all
worldwide shipments."
"When the Maverick processor's marketshare is combined with this
year's 399 percent growth rate in portable digital music players, it
makes the Maverick presence compelling indeed," added Paxton.
Manufacturers are seeing increased consumer demand as portable
Internet audio expands within the early adopter phase of the market.
Product designers of second-generation Internet audio players are
leveraging key Maverick processor features, giving them the choice of
MP3, WMA and AAC compression standards, as well as security and
digital rights management with Microsoft's WMT and InterTrust's Rights
PD(tm) firmware.
According to Cahners In-Stat Group, sales of portable digital
music players are expected to hit $998 million in 2001 and $1.25
billion by 2002. Sales of digitally downloaded music, starting at $9.0
million in 2000 will be worth $1.5 billion by 2005, according to the
analysts' July 2000 report at Jupiter Communications.
"Maverick processors are strategically positioned as a leader in
portable Internet audio because of their flexibility, long battery
life and rapid design cycle, giving customers the capability to get
their products to market fast," said Will Strauss, president of market
research firm Forward Concepts. "Those same features are enormously
appealing to the designers of a vast array of consumer Internet
appliances, which should continue to widen the breadth of the Maverick
chip adoption by the market."
As a result of the growing breadth of Maverick processors in
consumer Internet products, consumers can find Maverick chips in hot
products currently on store shelves including:
Portable Internet Audio Players
-- S3 Diamond's Rio 600
-- Creative's Nomad II
-- Creative's Nomad II MG
-- Creative's Nomad Jukebox
-- Sensory Science's Rave MP 2300
-- Opener's Handzoom DMP - 2000, and
-- Idea Grove's Ceiva picture frame, which displays and rotates
an Internet-based collection of digital photographs.
In addition to these shipping products, many Maverick-enabled
Internet products are currently in pre-production. Those products that
have been reported publicly include:
Portable Internet Audio Players
-- S3 Diamond's Rio 800
-- Compaq's iPAQ
-- Nike's PSA Play120
-- iJam's WinJam
-- Good Technology's SoundsGood
Network Internet Audio Receivers
-- S3 Diamond's Rio Receiver
-- Dell's(tm) Digital Audio Receiver
-- Voyetra Turtle Beach's(tm) Audiotron(tm)
Network-based Internet JukeBox
-- AudioShock's(tm) Virtual jukebox
Linux-based Digital Car Audio
-- PhatNoise's(tm) PhatBox
Portable eBooks
-- Thompson's RCA eBook
PDAs
-- IBM's PDA watch prototype
In addition to the Maverick processor's support for audio
compression standards, digital rights management and long battery
life, Maverick chips are designed to give manufacturers the option to
utilize alternative data storage methods including FLASH, hard drives
or CD ROMs, such as Sensory Science's Rave MP2300 Clik! drive.
Engineers also have their choice of operating systems including Linux,
WinCE, eCOS, EPOC, Palm OS and VxWorks.
"We believe that our Maverick Market Specific Processor (MSP) was
the right strategy at the right time," said Matthew Perry, vice
president and general manager of Cirrus Logic's Embedded Processors
Division. "With design wins in a wide variety of consumer Internet
products, Maverick chips are expanding beyond its leadership in the
Internet audio market."
Cirrus Logic
Cirrus Logic is a premier supplier of high-performance analog and
DSP chip solutions for Internet entertainment electronics. Building on
its global market share leadership in audio integrated circuits and
its rich mixed-signal patent portfolio, the company targets
high-volume audio, storage and communications applications. Cirrus
Logic sells its products under the Crystal(R), Maverick(tm) and
3Ci(tm) brands as well as its own name. Founded in 1984 in Silicon
Valley, Cirrus Logic operates from headquarters in Austin, Texas, and
major sites located in Fremont, Calif., and Broomfield, Colo., as well
as offices in Europe, Japan and Asia. More information about Cirrus
Logic is available at www.cirrus.com.
Safe Harbor Provision
Any forward-looking statements and all other statements that may be
made in this news release relating to the growth of the portable
digital music players and relating to our market share are
forward-looking statements that are not historical. The accuracy of
these statements is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties,
including the risk that the market for portable digital music players
will not grow as expected and that competition will diminish our
market share. Consequently, our actual results may differ materially
from the forward-looking statements included above. Please see our
current Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission for more information on the risk facts that could cause
actual results to differ.
Note to editors: Cirrus Logic, Maverick, MaverickLock and Crystal are
registered trademarks of Cirrus Logic Inc. All other product names
noted herein may be trademarks of their respective holders. |
