New Development Platform from Empower Technologies(TM) for TI OMAP5910 Processor Reduces Design Time, Risk and Cost

HOUSTON, Aug. 9, 2005 -- Delivering a one-stop Linux-based development platform to consumer electronics designers, Empower Technologies (Empower) and Texas Instruments Incorporated today announce the availability of the LinuxDA for OMAP5910 Development Kit (LDK5910), running LinuxDA Embedded O/S (LEOs(TM)) by Empower. Optimized for TI's OMAP5910 dual-core DSP and ARM CPU, the LDK5910 leverages the versatility of LEOs and the performance of TI's OMAP(TM) processor to serve as a powerful reference design that significantly reduces product development time, cost and risk.

LDK5910 is the only OMAP5910 processor development kit to offer embedded system developers and consumer electronic designers a one-stop shop solution. The platform comes complete with a hardware development board based on TI's OMAP5910 processor, LEOs Operating System software as well as a software development kit. The software bundle includes a complete LEOs Operating System software development environment that is comprised of a graphical user interface, database, device driver, and TI's unique DSP/BIOS(TM) Link designed specifically for OMAP platform. Product development teams will use LDK5910 as the spring board for both the hardware product design and software development while taking full advantage of the performance of the OMAP processor. The device allows for optimized applications that require high-performance, real- time signal processing with low-power consumption, including intelligent and portable multimedia devices. Within minutes after setting up the LDK5910, developers can compile, download and test applications. Designers also have the option to later alter the LDK5910 hardware design while developing LEOs based applications and/or using off-the-shelf DSP algorithms.

"By leveraging the performance of TI's OMAP5910 processor and the flexibility of LEOs, the LDK5910 proves to be a simple, scalable and versatile development platform ideal for consumer electronics developers," said Greg Mar, DSP systems-on-chip platform manager, TI.

The LDK5910 supports optimized digital signal processing audio/video algorithms as well as RISC-based Linux applications to best suit the needs of developers, manufacturers and consumers. One of the key benefits of the LDK5910 is its ability to support a variety of optimized digital signal processor (DSP) algorithms. Video codecs are readily available with the LDK5910 along with examples that demonstrate LEOs applications interacting with these codecs using TI's DSP/BIOS Link technology. Customers can also develop and download their own codecs using an available JTAG interface and the TI Code Composer Studio(TM) Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

An array of applications including calendar, contact list, task and other productivity functions are also available with LEOs. Leveraging these applications and the Rapid Deployment System (RDS) support within LEOs can significantly reduce application development effort and time. With RDS, developers or designers that require a live test or low volume deployment can develop LEOs-based Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) applications to run in the LDK5910 hardware as the target system. When the LEOs MDT applications are completed, designers or developers can order additional LDK5910 platforms as required to run these applications for live application test or low volume deployment scenarios.

"The combined power of LEOs and the OMAP5910 processor is impressively showcased by LDK5910. Now developers have the tools to miniaturize and develop smarter and faster software programs that can take advantage of the OMAP dual-core processor architecture. The software can now pack more functions into a very small body, while battery use is kept to a minimum," said Alex Romanov, vice president, Sales and Marketing, Empower Technologies.

The Core Technology: OMAP5910 processor and LEOs

TI's OMAP5910 dual-core architecture provides benefits of both DSP and ARM technologies, incorporating a TMS320C55x(TM) DSP core and a high-performance TI925T ARM core. The device is a highly integrated hardware and software platform, designed to meet the application processing needs of next-generation embedded devices. Tailored for such applications as video, image, audio and mobile communication, OMAP5910 processor features rich user interfaces, high processing performance, and long battery life through the maximum flexibility of a fully integrated, mixed-processor solution. Coupled with Empower Technologies' LEOs suite of Linux Operating System software and Software Development Kit (SDK), the device fulfills the needs of developers and the dynamic consumer electronics industry. The LEOs SDK supports platform and application development and is coupled with an excellent Software Developer's Manual. It includes a programming guide for applications and DSP programming. Within minutes of it being removed from the box, developers can start designing applications on the LDK5910 utilizing the dual-core architecture of the OMAP processor.

LDK5910 Price and Availability:

The LDK5910 is available for US$900 from Empower's online store http://www.linuxda.com . To locate the right LDK5910 authorized service provider for your organization, please e-mail sales@linuxda.com for detail.

About Texas Instruments Incorporated

Texas Instruments Incorporated provides innovative DSP and analog technologies to meet our customers' real-world signal processing requirements. In addition to Semiconductors, the company's businesses include Sensors & Controls, and Educational & Productivity Solutions. TI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has manufacturing, design or sales operations in more than 25 countries.

Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TXN. More information is located on the World Wide Web at http://www.ti.com .

About Empower Technologies(TM)

Founded in 2000, Empower Technologies is a developer of Linux-based operating software and embedded system technologies and solutions for the consumer electronics industry and the intelligent appliance market.

Empower recently developed a new embedded CPU platform for its LinuxDA Embedded O/S (LEOs(TM)) based on Texas Instruments' OMAP5910 dual core CPU platform.

By uniting top professionals from within the computer industry and developing quality partnerships and strategic alliances, Empower is committed to being the leading developer of Linux-based operating software and embedded system technologies and solutions for consumer electronics manufacturers and developers.

Empower's brands are "LinuxDA(TM)" and "LEOs(TM)" (http://www.linuxda.com ), Linux-based embedded operating systems and "PowerPlay(TM)" (http://www.powerplaydevices.com ), smart consumer electronics.

Empower Technologies is traded on TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol EPT. More Information on Empower Technologies please visit http://www.empowertechnologies.com .

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements from Empower Technologies

The statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are forward looking statements. Such statements are based on management's estimates, assumptions and projections using available information. The company cautions that actual financial results could differ materially from the current expectations due to a number of factors.

The TSX Venture Exchange has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transactions and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

Trademarks

PowerPlay and LinuxDA and LEOs are the trademarks of Empower Technologies, Inc. OMAP, DSP/BIOS, Code Composer Studio, and TMS320C55x are trademarks of Texas Instruments. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.