Solid State System (3S) Standardizes on Tensilica's Xtensa Processor for Future SOC Development; For Use in High-Volume Consumer Applications

Tensilica(R), Inc., the leading provider of configurable and extensible processors, today announced that Solid State System Co., Ltd., of Hsinchu, Taiwan, popularly called 3S, has licensed the Xtensa(R) processor. 3S plans to standardize on Tensilica's Xtensa processor for future system-on-chip (SOC) development, to fulfill the increasing requirements of configurable and reliable processor's performance from leading consumer applications.

"Tensilica proved that the Xtensa processor could be configured for many demanding applications," stated Jeffrey Lin, President of 3S. "As a leading company of Flash memory controller for a variety of applications, we admire the merits of the flexibility of the Xtensa architecture. We plan to base future SOC development on Xtensa."

"Having a full team in Taiwan allowed us to work closely with 3S even during this challenging time with SARS, travel restrictions and global recession," said Bernie Rosenthal, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Tensilica. "We're very pleased that 3S has chosen our processor for their innovative new consumer products, and we look forward to future designs."

About Solid State System
Solid State System Co., Ltd., is headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan. 3S has developed a strong reputation as an innovator and leader in flash disks solutions, particularly the controllers of CompactFlash(TM) cards, and smaller "thumb" sized "key chain" USB storage devices, which it markets under its own name and under OEM relationships for other companies. For more information, visit www.3system.com.tw.

About Tensilica
Tensilica was founded in July 1997 to address the growing need for optimized, application-specific microprocessor solutions in high-volume embedded applications. With a configurable and extensible microprocessor core called Xtensa, Tensilica is the only company that has automated and patented the time-consuming process of generating a customized microprocessor core along with a complete software development tool environment, producing new configurations in a matter of hours. For more information, visit www.tensilica.com.