Atmel and Redpine Signals Collaborate to Provide Ultra-Low-Power 802.11n Wi-Fi Capability for AVR and ARM-based Microcontrollers

Community of 100K+ designers for Atmel AVR and ARM-based microcontrollers can now easily implement wireless connectivity with Redpine Signals' 802.11n solutions for industrial and residential applications

San Jose, CA, September 28, 2011 - Today at the BUILD conference, Atmel® Corporation (NASDAQ: ATML), a leader in microcontroller and touch solutions, and Redpine Signals today announced that system engineers can easily implement 802.11n Wi-Fi to all Atmel AVR® and ARM®-based microcontrollers (MCUs) using Redpine Signals' Connect-io-n™ and n-Link™ modules. System engineers for Atmel AVR® XMEGA® and AVR UC3 MCU families and Atmel SAM3 and SAM9 ARM-based MCU families can now integrate Wi-Fi capability for a variety of embedded systems in building automation, metering, digital audio and medical applications.

Atmel customers can add 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity using two easy-to-use solutions from Redpine Signals, which are optimized for Atmel MCUs. The fully-certified Connect-io-n Wi-Fi modules with integrated TCP/IP stack are ideal for Atmel AVR XMEGA and AVR UC3 MCUs, and Atmel SAM3 ARM-based MCUs, while the high-performance n-Link module with host-managed TCP/IP stack are ideal for Atmel SAM9 ARM-based MCUs. Redpine's Connect-io-n and n-Link solutions connect to Atmel MCUs through UART, SPI and SDIO interfaces and offer up to 65Mbps of physical bit rate and up to 45 Mbps of data throughput on SDIO interface. System designers can purchase Wi-Fi kits from Redpine Signals, designed to work with Atmel Xplained boards and ARM-based evaluation kits (EV). The Wi-Fi kit includes optimized drivers and code examples free of charge and customers can also download Linux drivers to use with the Atmel SAM9 ARM-based MCUs.

"Wi-Fi connectivity is fast making its way into embedded applications," said Øyvind Strøm, sr. director of wireless marketing, Atmel Corporation. "Our customers are looking for low-power Wi-Fi connectivity for their embedded applications to complement the emerging 802.11n infrastructure network. This is an ideal time to add Wi-Fi capability to our MCU families, and we are excited to collaborate with Redpine Signals to bring more Wi-Fi connectivity to market."

"Redpine has pioneered low-power 802.11n Wi-Fi technology for over 10 years and established itself as a preferred provider of Wi-Fi connectivity for emerging industrial, medical, residential and smart energy markets. By offering 11n Wi-Fi connectivity for the leading Atmel AVR and ARM-based microcontrollers, including the AVR XMEGA, AVR UC3 and SAM3 and SAM9 ARM-based families, we believe it is a 'win-win' for both companies," said Venkat Mattela, CEO at Redpine Signals. "Our mature, proven module design and manufacturing expertise, combined with our optimal silicon architecture, has enabled us to provide 802.11n single-stream solutions at a lower cost than legacy 802.11b and 802.11b/g solutions."

Pricing and Availability

To begin evaluation, customers may purchase an Atmel evaluation kit, such as the Xplained kit, and a Wi-Fi kit from Redpine Signals. The Atmel Xplained and EV kits are available from Atmel and its distribution partners with a suggested retail price starting at $29. The Redpine Signals Wi-Fi kits are available from Redpine Signals with a suggested retail price starting at $79.

For more information about wireless and Wi-Fi solutions for Atmel microcontrollers, visit www.atmel.com/wireless.

About Atmel

Atmel Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML) is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of microcontrollers, capacitive touch solutions, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory and radio frequency (RF) components. Leveraging one of the industry's broadest intellectual property (IP) technology portfolios, Atmel is able to provide the electronics industry with complete system solutions focused on industrial, consumer, communications, computing and automotive markets.About Redpine Signals, Inc.

Headquartered in San Jose, California, Redpine Signals, Inc., is a fabless semiconductor and wireless system solutions company focusing on ultra-low-power and high-performance products for next-generation wireless applications. Redpine was founded in 2001 and was the first in the industry to launch an ultra-low power and low-cost single-stream 802.11n chipset in late 2007. Redpine offers chipsets, modules and solutions covering multiple market segments including industrial, consumer electronics, medical, mobile, PC, and smart energy. Its technology portfolio includes multi-stream 802.11n along with mobile WiMax (802.16e) and LTE technologies. The company has more than 120 employees worldwide. For more information on Redpine products, visit http://www.redpinesignals.com/ or contact Redpine at info@redpinesignals.com.