Denver, CO - June 7, 1999 - Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS) today introduced a high-speed, ultra low-power system-on-chip (SOC) that will ease the frustrations of consumers who love their pocket organizers and other information appliances, but hate having to charge the batteries so often. Unveiled at the Microsoft Windows CE Developers Conference, the highly-integrated EP7211 chip is ideal for products retailing between $150 and $300, and is also among the few chips currently on the market that supports both Windows CE and EPOC 32, the leading operating systems for handheld consumer information appliances.

Embedded in the new SOC is an ARM 720T microprocessor core that operates at 74MHz - fast enough to equal the performance of a 100 MHz PentiumTM-based PC. However, the ultra-low power 2.5-volt system requires only 170 mW at full speed, which means extended battery life for information appliances running on standard AA, AAA, or rechargeable batteries. The powerful SOC also provides built-in support for a high contrast LCD display, PC connectivity (PCMIA), and optional infrared support.

ASSPs Optimized for Information Appliances

The EP7211 is the first in a new generation of ASSPs (application-specific standard products) that are designed specifically for "information appliances" - intelligent, special purpose devices that perform a limited number of tasks extraordinarily well. According to market research firm IDC, the unit volume of information appliances will overtake PC volumes within the next few years, reaching approximately 20 million units by the year 2002.

"The demand for these appliances is rapidly expanding," said Matthew Perry, vice president and general manager of Cirrus Logic's Embedded Processor Division. "And unlike the 'big iron' approach of maximizing system speed - along with power consumption and price - information appliances require an optimal approach that balances features with performance, power usage and price. Our new embedded processor solutions are aimed at hitting the sweet spot of price and performance requirements for specific appliance applications."

Leveraging Cirrus Logic's extensive intellectual property (IP) portfolio, systems knowledge and experience with ARM logic cores, Cirrus Logic is targeting specific vertical markets with ASSP solutions that meet a superset of application requirements. The result provides an off-the-shelf chip solution with faster time to market than ASICs, and lower development costs than general-purpose microcontrollers. "Our ASSP approach allows us to respond quickly to manufacturers of information appliances such as PDAs, Internet audio players, GPS systems, e-books, and held-held devices for industrial applications," said Perry.

Only Solution that Supports WinCE and EPOC 32

In line with Cirrus Logic's strategy to offer developer-friendly chips that support multiple real-time operating systems (RTOSs), the EP7211 is among the first chips on the market that can run both Microsoft's WinCE and Symbian's EPOC 32, the two leading operating systems for consumer handheld devices. Further, the 7211 can readily support additional RTOS platforms for vertical markets that have specialized operating system requirements. Given that the market for real-time operating systems is very fragmented, the flexibility to support multiple RTOSs and evolving requirements provides a distinct advantage for embedded systems.

Best MIPs/Watt/Price Performance

Targeted at minimizing power consumption while incorporating one of the industry's fastest ARM7TDMI CPU cores, the EP7211 delivers a solution with a high MIPS/Watt ratio. Moreover, as Cirrus Logic's third-generation ARM-core based chip, the EP7211 also incorporates proven low-cost system design principles to offer an unmatched ratio of price per MIPS/Watts. While alternative chips typically couple pricing and MIPS (high MIPS solutions at high prices, or low MIPS at low prices), Cirrus Logic is the first to offer high MIPS solutions at low prices.

Extremely Efficient Processor & Power Consumption

To complement the ARM 720T microprocessor core, the EP7211 provides an 8-kByte, 4-way set associative cache that boosts system processing. And because the EP7211 uses the ARM Thumb instruction set that shrinks commonly used 32-bit instructions into 16-bits, the EP7211 supports a 30 to 40 percent improvement in code density, and thus reduces system memory requirements.

The EP7211 also includes a dynamically selectable clock circuit that can instantly switch between 18MHz, 36MHz, 49MHz and 74MHz. This software-controlled clock circuit conserves power by increasing the processing speeds only when necessary, and thus can prolong battery life. For example, when running at 18 MHz, the EP7211 typically consumes only 50 mW, and in the idle-state (with the clock to the CPU stopped but all peripherals still running) the EP7211 consumes only 15 mW. In the standby state it consumes as little as 50 microwatts.

Rich set of built-in peripherals

The EP7211 incorporates an entire suite of system peripherals minimizing the need for external logic in system implementations. It includes one the most flexible LCD controllers ever incorporated into a single chip solution, capable of handling displays up to 1024 pixels wide. It also includes a complete DRAM controller, two UARTs, an IR interface, a Y2K compliant Real-Time-Clock, multiple on-chip timers, 27 general purpose I/O pins, and an interface to the CL-PS6700 PCMCIA/Compact Flash Controller Chip. Given its rich set of built-in peripherals, the EP7211 only requires a few additional components to provide a complete handheld system. The chip also incorporates 37.5KB of on-chip arbitrated SRAM that can be used as a frame buffer or as on-board memory to improve system performance and further reduce power consumption. To aid developers in designing their products, the EP7211 also offers embedded in-circuit emulation (ICE) and silicon debug support via a JTAG port.

Pin Compatible with Predecessors

The EP7211 is socket- and register-compatible with its predecessor, the PS7111, facilitating OS and software migration from PS7110 and PS7111, and accelerating time to market. In addition to improving the feature set and performance over the PS7111, the EP7211 adds JTAG boundary scan support to facilitate testing.

Packaging, Price and Availability

The EP7211 comes in a 208-pin LQFP and a 256-lead PBGA package. Samples in limited quantities are available immediately; production quantities and a development board (priced at US $1,295) will be available in Q3 of 1999. The unit price for the EP7211 is US $14.95 in the 208-pin LQFP for quantities of 100,000 per year, and $17.95 in the 256-lead PBGA for quantities of 100,000 per year.

About Cirrus Logic Inc.

Cirrus Logic is a premier supplier of high-performance analog circuits and advanced mixed-signal chip solutions. The company's products, sold under its own name and the Crystal product brand, enable system-level applications in mass storage, audio and precision data conversion. Additional information about Cirrus Logic is available at www.cirrus.com.

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Note to editors: Cirrus Logic is a registered trademark of Cirrus Logic Inc. All other product names noted herein may be trademarks of their respective holders.