Texas Instruments and Ericsson Cooperate on a DSP-based Open Multimedia Applications Platform for Next Generation Wireless Handsets

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Texas Instruments and Ericsson Cooperate on a DSP-based Open Multimedia Applications Platform for Next Generation Wireless Handsets

DALLAS (Jan. 10, 2000) -Texas Instruments (TI) Incorporated (NYSE: TXN) and Ericsson announced today that Ericsson will use TI's DSP-based Open Multimedia Application Platform (OMAP) in its next generation wireless Internet handsets, communicators and advanced mobile computing devices. This platform, utilizing TI's industry leading DSP technology, will enable advanced wireless Internet access, including future voice, data and video functions such as digital audio, e-commerce and real-time video streaming. TI's OMAP platform will deliver the advanced processing required to make these functions a reality, without compromising the power efficiency essential to wireless communications devices. http://www.ti.com/sc and http://mobile.ericsson.com.

As part of this cooperation, Ericsson and TI will develop a custom and highly optimized subsystem within TI's digital baseband platform called a Gigacell. The Gigacell consists of a new high performance TMS320 DSP core from TI, a dedicated ARM&153; based microcontroller, Direct Memory Access (DMA), memories and a set of specific hardware blocks. The Gigacell and future derivatives will be the core of highly integrated 3G digital baseband chips that Ericsson plans to develop.

The Gigacell will be based on TI's Open Multimedia Applications Platform - a flexible hardware and software platform that will support a wide range of applications and platforms within the wireless market from basic voice and Internet services, to advanced multimedia functionality. Each element of OMAP is designed to be easily connected together and integrated with a customer's own blocks, and gives software developers far-reaching capabilities until now unavailable.

"As the industry moves toward the next generation of wireless communication devices, Ericsson will provide proven leadership in the marketplace by delivering cutting edge products to our customers worldwide," said Tord Wingren, Director and General Manager for Product Unit UMTS Telephones at Ericsson Mobile Communications. "By being TI's driving engagement for the first standard OMAP Gigacell, we will be early to market with the optimal platform for our future wireless communications devices. Ericsson is building on its leadership position in the wireless world and is investing heavily in pioneering multimedia technologies for the new millenium. We plan to take a leadership position in the 3G wireless market by supporting all services in 3G networks with highly competitive products.

"The convergence of communications and wireless computing applications, combined with the vast power and opportunities enabled by the Internet, is creating many exciting opportunities for Texas Instruments and Ericsson to work together," said Gilles Delfassy, Vice President, Texas Instruments, Worldwide Wireless Communications. "TI's expertise in DSPs optimized for wireless communications end-equipment will allow Ericsson and other customers to offer leading solutions and capabilities. Ericsson, choosing TI as their principal partner for 3G, is a tremendous endorsement both for this technology and for the long-standing and successful relationship between the two companies."

TI will also make its OMAP platform available to other OEMs and third parties for the development of new applications in the wireless data market. A preliminary tool set is now available for software designers to begin implementing applications. Customer design can start today for silicon samples, with volume production in the second half of 2000. TI will support this platform with development chips, a software development kit and clearly defined Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). The APIs will be open and can be implemented by other vendors to ensure an attractive DSP accelerated multimedia environment for Independent Software Vendors (ISVs).

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