ARM Significantly Reduces Time-To-Market for AMBA 3 AXI Interconnect-based SoC Designs

AMBA(R) BusMatrix and AMBA Designer Technologies Automate and Simplify Key Phases of Complex SoC Design

CAMBRIDGE, England -- October 4, 2005 -- ARM (LSE: ARM) (Nasdaq: ARMHY) today announced at the second annual ARM(R) Developers' Conference in Santa Clara, Calif., the launch of the ARM AMBA(R) BusMatrix(tm) and AMBA Designer(tm) products, for use in embedded system design. The AMBA BusMatrix interconnect enables system architects to optimize performance, while the AMBA Designer tool enables rapid configuration of sub systems.

The AMBA BusMatrix is a fully configurable PrimeCell(R) core which forms the key building block of the AMBA on-chip interconnect. The user can control the structure to support high throughput with the popular AMBA multi-layer protocol while minimizing gate count. By linking peripherals through the high performance AMBA 3 AXI specification, the AMBA BusMatrix core, in conjunction with the AMBA Designer tool, enables system architects to optimize the performance of systems by experimenting with different configurations to find the most efficient system solution.

The AMBA Designer environment enables configuration of the AMBA BusMatrix, through an intuitive Graphical User Interface (GUI) based on MaxSim(tm) technology. The rapid configuration functionality enables Partners to reduce the time-to-market of ASIC designs by simplifying the complexity of the design process, enabling performance and efficiency gains to be made. Furthermore, by utilizing the performance and clock speed advantages afforded by these new technologies, designers also benefit from reduced power consumption in their ASIC designs. The ARM AMBA Designer also supports SPIRIT (Structure for Packaging, Integrating and Re-using IP within Tool-flows), an industry standard for efficient integration of IP in SoC platform design.

"As a lead ARM partner, Freescale worked closely with the ARM development team on the AMBA 3 AXI fabric components' features and specifications," said Berardino Baratta, director, Multimedia Applications Division, Freescale. "The AMBA 3 AXI fabric components are flexible enough to allow us to quickly develop customized interconnect solutions for our i.MX family of applications processors. That, in turn, helps our customers deliver their products to market faster."

"The increasing complexity of ASIC designs has led to the need for high-performance fabrics and tools capable of servicing the evolving needs of system designers, a need which ARM is addressing with its extensive Fabric IP portfolio," said Jonathan Morris, general manager, Fabric, ARM. "These latest AMBA products enable designers to save precious time when architecting complex system designs, providing a critical advantage in the race to market."

About ARM

ARM designs the technology that lays at the heart of advanced digital products, from wireless, networking and consumer entertainment solutions to imaging, automotive, security and storage devices. ARM's comprehensive product offering includes 16/32-bit RISC microprocessors, data engines, 3D processors, digital libraries, embedded memories, peripherals, software and development tools, as well as analog functions and high-speed connectivity products. Combined with the company's broad Partner community, they provide a total system solution that offers a fast, reliable path to market for leading electronics companies. More information on ARM is available at http://www.arm.com.

ARM is a registered trademark of ARM Limited. AMBA, AMBA BusMatrix, AMBA Designer, RealView and MaxSim are trademarks of ARM Limited. All other brands or product names are the property of their respective holders. "ARM"' is used to represent ARM Holdings plc; its operating company ARM Limited; and the regional subsidiaries ARM INC.; ARM KK; ARM Korea Ltd.; ARM Taiwan; ARM France SAS; ARM Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.; ARM Belgium N.V.; AXYS Design Automation Inc.; AXYS GmbH; ARM Embedded Technologies Pvt. Ltd.; and ARM Physical IP, Inc.