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STMicroelectronics' Nomadik, an Application Processor, Grabs Microprocessor Report Award for Best in Class |
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Visit ST at the 3GSM World Congress (Hall 4, Booth K21) in Cannes, February 23-26, 2004 Geneva, February 11, 2004 - STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) today announced that its STn8800 Nomadik, a multimedia application processor chip, has won the Microprocessor Report Analysts' Choice Award in the category of Application Processors. "Nomadik may help move cell-phone users toward increased use of multimedia communications and give base-station builders an additional good reason to invest in 3G technology and beyond," notes Max Baron, a principle analyst for Microprocessor Report, which announced the award winners in ten categories during a dinner presentation held on February 5, 2004 in San Jose, Calif. "This award is a gratifying recognition of Nomadik's innovative, distributed-processing architecture," commented Guy Lauvergeon, General Manager of ST's Multimedia Platform Unit. "Particularly well-suited to mobile convergence devices, Nomadik leverages ST's long experience in both digital consumer and cellular phones and represents a bold departure from traditional processor-vendors' approach." Designed for ultra-low power consumption, unsurpassed audio and video quality, easy application development, and scalability, the STn8800 belongs to a category of processors that, according to Microprocessor Report, promises "not just new systems, but whole classes of systems, especially in the consumer electronics and networking industries." Equipped with an application processor, portable terminals like mobile phones and portable media centers will be able to play music, take pictures, record video, and even host two-way, real-time videoconferences. With its emphasis on low power and high performance, users of Nomadik-equipped terminals are assured both a rich multimedia experience and a longer battery life. ST will be demonstrating Nomadik processors running various applications at this year's 3GSM World Congress (Hall 4 Booth K21) in Cannes, France, February 23-26, 2004. About Nomadik An Application processor runs the operating system and applications, but typically not the communications software, in next-generation wireless terminals, such as cell phones and PDA. Most application processors are single CPUs or DSP+CPU combo architectures that can only do so much without increasing clock frequencies and data movement between the application processor and memory. So designers are forced to augment these application processors with acceleration hardware to create video-capable versions. But this approach still results in high programming complexity and/or very high MHz requirements, which means longer time-to-market and higher power consumption. Nomadik processor chips combine programmable 'smart accelerators' that operate independently and concurrently to process key video and audio coding functions, including pre- and post-processing with an ARM processor core. Nomadik's distributed processing approach simplifies software development by limiting the need for the core processor to process critical real-time multimedia code, thus freeing the main CPU for other software applications. Moreover, comprehensive software development tools are available for the Nomadik architecture, which runs the most popular mobile-device operating systems, including Symbian OS, Microsoft's WinCE family, and Linux. Also, Nomadik's highly scalable computational power and smart accelerators ensure customers can add new features while keeping power consumption within reasonable limits, unlike other, traditional application processors. The chip's programmable audio accelerator executes such industry standard encoding and decoding functions as MP3, MPEG2-Layer II, MPEG2/4-AAC, and Dolby Digital. For its part, the programmable video accelerator, thanks to proprietary technology, achieves the industry's lowest power consumption when running H.263 and MPEG-4 codec functions. Future Nomadik versions will implement the H.264 standard. Nomadik chips also include a standard baseband modem interface, as well as a simple interface for wireless peripheral area networks, like Bluetooth; local-area networks, like IEEE 802.11; as well as global-positioning system chip sets from a variety of manufacturers. Manufactured in 130nm CMOS fabrication technology, samples of the STn8800 Nomadik multimedia application processor chip assembled in a single stacked package with a Flash memory chip will be available in mid-2004. Future versions will be manufactured using 90nm CMOS technology and will include 3D graphics and content security functions. While there are currently no specifications for standard hardware and software interfaces to mobile application processors, ST is a founding member of the MIPI Alliance, which is working toward that end. About STMicroelectronics STMicroelectronics is a global leader in developing and delivering semiconductor solutions across the spectrum of microelectronics applications. An unrivalled combination of silicon and system expertise, manufacturing strength, Intellectual Property (IP) portfolio and strategic partners positions the Company at the forefront of System-on-Chip (SoC) technology and its products play a key role in enabling today's convergence markets. The Company's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, on Euronext Paris and on the Milan Stock Exchange. In 2003, the Company's net revenues were $7.24 billion and net earnings were $253 million. Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com |
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