CSR (Cambridge Silicon Radio) To Use New ARM9E Family Core In Next-Generation Wireless Devices

CAMBRIDGE, UK  - Feb. 10, 2004 – ARM [(LSE: ARM); (Nasdaq: ARMHY)], the industry’s leading provider of 16/32-bit embedded RISC processor solutions, today announced that CSR (Cambridge Silicon Radio), a leading designer and manufacturer of single-chip radio devices, has licensed the ARM968E-S™ core (see press release...New ARM9E™ Family Core Provides Unrivalled Low-Power Performance...3 Dec. 2003). This agreement further enhances CSR’s capabilities in delivering a range of wireless connectivity solutions.

CSR is one of the fastest growing chip manufacturers in the UK with a reputation for developing highly integrated wireless solutions. Using the ARM968E-S core will give CSR the benefits of the core’s small silicon footprint (0.59sq mm @ 0.13um), Interleaved Memory Architecture (IMA) for efficient dataflow processing, industry standard programmers’ model and a wide range of SoC infrastructure support to reduce time-to-market. The ARM968E-S core is a powerful CPU in a very small footprint that provides efficient data flow to its tightly coupled memory using innovative (IMA) micro-architecture and a second AHB-lite interface. This feature enables the core to do more useful work and less data handling, providing system efficiencies that can translate into lower power or additional system features. At 0.15mW/MHz the core offers an extremely attractive performance/power ratio for power sensitive mobile applications.  The ARM968E-S core is applicable to many embedded applications such as automotive, hard disk drives, Bluetooth, DECT, cellular modems and WLAN.

“Licensing the ARM968E-S core will enable CSR to continue to lead the market in developing single-chip radio devices. We intend to use the ARM968E-S core in a new generation of high data rate chips where we need the 100MIPS plus performance offered by the ARM® 32-bit architecture,” said James Collier, technical director of CSR. “An added benefit is that CSR’s OEM customers will be able to use familiar ARM tools and programmers model.”

“CSR has a successful track record in wireless technology, and an established reputation for innovation,” said Mike Inglis, EVP Marketing, ARM. “The ARM968E-S core offers CSR significant processing performance with the benefit of minimal silicon area, low cost and reduced energy consumption. This combination enables CSR to develop a wide range of connectivity chips that deliver improved performance, improved battery life and lower silicon cost.”

About ARM
ARM is the industry’s leading provider of 16/32-bit embedded RISC microprocessor solutions. The company licenses its high-performance, low-cost, power-efficient RISC processors, peripherals, and system-on-chip designs to leading international electronics companies. ARM also provides comprehensive support required in developing a complete system. ARM’s microprocessor cores are rapidly becoming a volume RISC standard in such markets as portable communications, hand-held computing, multimedia digital consumer and embedded solutions. More information on ARM is available at http://www.arm.com

ENDS

ARM is a registered trademark of ARM Limited. ARM9E and ARM968E-S are trademarks of ARM Limited.  “ARM” is used to represent ARM Holdings plc (LSE: ARM and Nasdaq: ARMHY); 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; and ARM Belgium N.V.