SPIRIT Licenses Voice and Audio Software to ARM

-- SPIRIT DSP, the world's leading provider of voice and video software engines, announced today that ARM (LSE:ARM)(Nasdaq:ARMH) has selected SPIRIT Voice and Audio software to evaluate the multimedia performance of its next-generation processors.

Fully optimized for ARM® processor-based devices, awarded multiple industry awards and being used by more than 200 customers, SPIRIT software significantly increases VoIP and multimedia quality and power-efficiency on all embedded platforms: mobile phones, MIDs, PMPs, STBs, etc.

The importance of multimedia performance is growing every day as multimedia functionality becomes a required part of every up-to-date consumer electronic device. ARM pays great attention to the multimedia performance of its processors in every consumer electronic market segment, including the fast evolving MID market. By 2010 around 400 Million Internet enabled mobile devices are expected to be shipped, more than notebooks and desktops combined.

SPIRIT software will enable ARM to test and optimize the performance of its new processors for the most comprehensive voice and audio processing features that define multimedia performance of a device like High Efficiency Advanced Audio Coding technology (also known as eAAC+) that operates at very low bitrates and uses the most sophisticated encoding techniques or Adaptive Multi-Rate Wideband (AMR-WB) GSM speech codec that provides wideband speech in third-generation mobile telephony applications using comprehensive speech compression algorithms.

“To evaluate our architecture decisions, we needed well respected codec implementations that have been optimized for the ARM v5TE, ARMv6 and ARMv7A architectures,” said Rob Coombs, director of mobile solutions, ARM. “SPIRIT Audio and Voice software is among the most optimized and power-efficient solution for ARM processors, so we chose SPIRIT’s codec implementations as the reference for high-quality processing performance.”

SPIRIT’s solutions have already proved their high quality sound with low power consumption repeatedly, and serve as the industry’s ultimate performance benchmarks: early in 2007 Toshiba licensed SPIRIT’s audio software as the standard for their hardware platforms comparative benchmarking to evaluate its next-generation semiconductor designs.

"We are glad to contribute again to one of the world’s best processor cores developed by our strategic partner ARM,” said Slava Borilin, VP Products at SPIRIT. “ARM is at the very center of mobile multimedia computing technology. Many SPIRIT customers including leading smartphone OEMs (HTC, Compal, Quanta, Arima, E-TEN, etc. collectively shipping more then 60% of smartphones worldwide) already benefit from SPIRIT software running on ARM processors. ARM Cortex™ family of processors will enable many SPIRIT customers to expand their businesses into new consumer markets. SPIRIT will ensure that SPIRIT’s Audio and Voice Engines will continue to make ARM processor-based consumer devices the best choice for end-users.”

SPIRIT will optimize and offer for licensing its software to coincide with the release of new ARM Cortex family processors.

About SPIRIT

SPIRIT DSP (www.spiritDSP.com) employs 140 professionals, and has been in the international software licensing business since 1992. A bootstrap company, SPIRIT has been profitable for 15 years. For the last 10 years, SPIRIT's focus has been on voice, audio and video communication software products. SPIRIT counts among its customers Adobe, Agere, ARM, Blizzard, BT, Cisco, Compal, Ericsson, HP, NXP, HTC, Huawei, Korea Telecom, Kyocera, LG, Microsoft, NEC, Nortel Networks, Oracle, Polycom, Quanta, Radvision, Reigncom, Samsung, Siemens, DSP Group, Texas Instruments, Tensilica, Toshiba, ZTE, and 200+ other communication OEMs and software vendors. SPIRIT communication software is used in over 80 countries and powers more than 100 million voice channels. Today SPIRIT mobile OEM customers jointly ship more that 60 percent of smart-phones worldwide.

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 32-bit RISC microprocessors, graphics processors, enabling software, cell libraries, embedded memories, high-speed connectivity products, peripherals and development tools. Combined with comprehensive design services, training, support and maintenance, and 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.