Microsoft and ARM Announce Three New Silicon Vendors Are Supporting Windows CE .NET

Newest ARM Consortium Members Include Motorola, STMicroelectronics and NeoMagic

REDMOND, Wash. -- Sept. 18, 2002 -- Microsoft Corp. and ARM Ltd. today kicked off their first Executive Summit and announced that three new silicon vendors, Motorola Inc., STMicroelectronics and NeoMagic Corp., will develop products optimized for Microsoft® Windows® CE .NET. Optimizations include extended battery life, wireless technology and enhanced performance. These silicon-vendor products join existing ARM® core-based systems from vendors such as Hynix Semiconductor Inc., Intel Corp., Samsung Electronics America and Texas Instruments Inc. that support Windows CE .NET and provide customers with more choices and exciting new solutions designed for specific devices such as multimedia, digital imaging and wireless.

"Windows CE .NET provides the richest operating system platform for small-footprint mobile devices," said Todd Warren, general manager of the Embedded and Appliance Platform Group at Microsoft. "We are very excited to continue our great work with ARM and the new consortium members that deliver innovative and exciting hardware platforms optimized for Windows CE .NET."

"The relationship will ensure each company's technology is fully optimized to complement their respective products and extend opportunities to other leading ARM partners," said Mike Inglis, executive vice president of marketing at ARM. "The goal is to provide a proven development and manufacturing environment that delivers faster development cycles, better integration, superior functionality and performance, and ultimately quicker time to market."

Microsoft ARM Relationship
ARM and Microsoft have been working together since 1996 to combine their industry expertise, which led to the creation of the ARM Consortium that actively works with members to optimize development efforts.

The ARM and Microsoft Executive Summit was created in response to the increasing demand for Windows CE support on ARM processors and aims to educate participants about fully utilizing ARM core-based processor technology for the Windows CE .NET operating system. The summit enables ARM silicon partners to understand and participate on the Windows CE platform, which has resulted in greater innovation and choice for device manufacturers designing the next generation of smart devices.

The summit is a two-day workshop that introduces ARM partners to a broad range of business opportunities available through integration of the ARM architecture and Windows CE .NET. The summit is an invitation-only event that will share confidential technology and business strategy information with attendees. Topics covered at the summit include marketing strategies, technology road maps, silicon-vendor case studies of successful embedded solutions and technical overviews. Keynote presentations will be given by Warren, Inglis and Mike Muller, chief technical officer at ARM. Product presentations will cover Pocket PC, Smartphone, Windows Powered Smart Displays, .NET Compact Framework, Visual Studio® .NET and Windows Media™. More information on the summit can be obtained by contacting wcesvr@microsoft.com.

About the Microsoft Embedded and Appliance Platforms Group
The Microsoft Embedded and Appliance Platforms Group (EAPG) delivers the Windows Embedded operating systems and tools, which are comprehensive software platforms for building the next generation of intelligent, 32-bit connected Windows Powered devices that demand rich applications and Internet services. In addition, Microsoft offers a wide range of programs and services designed to meet the specific needs of Windows Embedded customers, industry partners and developers. Windows Embedded operating systems currently shipping include Windows CE .NET and Windows XP Embedded, as well as the Server Appliance Kit for Windows 2000. The EAPG is also working on a new device category, Windows Powered Smart Displays, that will extend the Windows XP experience throughout the home. More information on EAPG is available by contacting wep@microsoft.com.

About ARM Consortium for Windows CE
The ARM Consortium for Windows CE operating system was formed to optimize development of Windows CE-based solutions on the ARM architecture. The consortium fosters innovation and decreases time to market for the ARM silicon partners and facilitates Microsoft-approved compliance testing and certification of ARM partner silicon. The consortium works to optimize Windows CE solutions for the emerging portable, multimedia and embedded control markets. Membership in the consortium is available to ARM silicon partners that want to participate in the Windows CE markets with ARM Powered® solutions optimized for Windows CE. These include the ARM720T™ core, the ARM920T™ core, the ARM 926EJ-S™ core, the ARM 1026EJ-S™ core, the ARM1020T™ core, StrongARM® and XScale™ processors. Microsoft provides all the necessary components that enable ARM core-based solutions for Windows CE, including support in the latest edition of the Microsoft Windows CE Platform Builder. The ARM Consortium for Windows CE gives OEMs the selection and variety needed to develop products quickly.

More information on how to join the ARM Windows CE Consortium can be found by contacting wince_consortium@arm.com.

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-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, handheld computing, multimedia digital consumer and embedded solutions.

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software -- any time, any place and on any device.

Microsoft, Windows, Visual Studio and Windows Media are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

ARM and ARM Powered are registered trademarks of ARM Ltd. ARM720T, ARM920T, ARM926EJ-S, ARM1020T and ARM1026EJ-S are trademarks of ARM Ltd. "ARM" is used to represent ARM Holdings plc (LSE: ARM and Nasdaq: ARMHY); its operating company ARM Ltd.; and the regional subsidiaries ARM INC. ARM KK, ARM Korea Ltd., ARM Taiwan, ARM France SAS and ARM China. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.