First Consumer Products with Imagination's Shader-Based POWERVR SGX Graphics Core Now Shipping

Leader in embedded 3D graphics IP sets another first with Open GL ES 2.0 capable product now available

London, UK -- July 31, 2008 -- Imagination Technologies, the leader in mobile and embedded graphics technologies, reports that the first branded consumer electronics products utilising its advanced and market-leading shader-based graphics core, POWERVR SGX, are now shipping.

POWERVR SGX, Imagination’s OpenGL ES 2.0 and OpenVG compliant graphics acceleration technology, is already on sale in devices from Aigo, Kohjinsha, Sharp and others. These are the first wave, with further MID, mobile phone, automotive and media player products on the way. Dozens of POWERVR SGX-enabled products will ship in the next few months from manufacturers including Asus, Fujitsu, Gigabyte and Panasonic.

Imagination expects that the first mobile phone handsets with POWERVR SGX will start shipping in Q4/2008 in Japan.

POWERVR SGX passed as Khronos OpenGL ES 2.0 compliant in June 2008 – the first graphics technology to achieve compliance with the key API for the next-generation of mobile devices based on commercial, production silicon.

Imagination has led the mobile and embedded graphics market, originally with its POWERVR MBX graphics which is now the de facto standard for 3D-acceleration in key embedded markets including mobile phone, navigation, media players and STB/TV.

POWERVR leads the market based on the key measures of: number of licensees, number of chips in development, range of markets targeted by OEMs deploying the technology, and total volume of devices shipped.

POWERVR’s success is based on a patented tiled based architecture, which is the most optimal and advanced technology for delivering performance and low-power consumption. POWERVR’s robust, proven architecture has been developed over more than a decade of high-volume deployment in markets including PC, console, automotive and mobile.

Imagination’s CEO Hossein Yassaie says:"Being the first shader-based IP core in mobile product is a significant milestone and we believe that POWERVR SGX already has a two year lead on its rivals. This technology has the support of leading semiconductor companies and OEMs and has achieved design wins in multiple markets including in-car, MID, UMPC, media player, mobile phone and STB/TV. We are confident that SGX will maintain Imagination’s leadership in the market, currently enabled by POWERVR MBX. Indeed, the lead enjoyed by SGX is already ahead of that held by MBX at a similar stage in its roll-out."

POWERVR SGX is sampling or shipping now in SoCs (system on chip) from Intel, NEC and Texas Instruments. Already 13 licenses have been taken by customers for POWERVR SGX, with more in the pipeline, and around 25 POWERVR SGX-based SoC devices are in development or production.

About Imagination Technologies
Imagination Technologies Group plc (FTSE:IMG) – a leader in semiconductor System on Chip Intellectual Property (SoC IP) – creates and licenses market-leading embedded graphics, video and display accelerators, multi-threaded processors and multi-standard receiver technologies. These IP solutions are complemented by dynamic and extensive developer and middleware ecosystems. Target markets include digital radio and audio; mobile phone multimedia; personal media players (PMP); in-car navigation and driver information; personal navigation devices (PND); Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) and Mobile Internet Device (MID); digital TV & set-top box; and mobile TV. Its licensees include leading semiconductor and consumer electronics companies, as well as innovative leading edge start-up and fabless semiconductor companies. Imagination has corporate headquarters in the United Kingdom, with sales and R&D offices worldwide. See: www.imgtec.com.