SAN JOSE, Calif. and TAIPEI, Taiwan, May 24, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- CEVA, Inc. (Nasdaq:CEVA) (LSE:CVA) the industry's leading licensor of Digital Signal Processor (DSP) cores and communication solutions to the semiconductor industry, today launched Xpert-Palm, a licensable DSP system-on-chip platform built around CEVA's Palm DSP core, and announced that the platform has been licensed and deployed by Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI).CEVA-Palm DSP exploits an innovative parallel DSP architecture, architecture accelerators (e.g. Viterbi, FFT) and variable data width (16, 20 and 24 bits), making the core ideal for processing intensive markets such as 3G phones, basestations and home multimedia. Xpert-Palm, launched today, integrates a rich set of system peripherals such as DMA, AMBA bus and many others around the CEVA-Palm DSP core, thereby reducing the cost and time-to-market for new product development. Xpert-Palm is fully synthesizable, process independent and supported by a complete Integrated Development Environment.
CEVA's first announced licensee for Xpert-Palm is Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). ITRI, a national-level, government-sponsored organization, role is to accelerate the development of industrial technology and promote growth throughout Taiwanese industry. Many leading companies, including TSMC and UMC, have originated at the Institute. Acting in its capacity as technology catalyst, ITRI's partnerships within Taiwan's semiconductor industry will develop wireless solutions and reference designs based on Xpert-Palm for the Taiwanese technology industry. The first project will develop a W-CDMA 3G base-band wireless system-on-chip solution. ITRI's two lead technical partners in this deployment of Xpert-Palm are Computer and Communications Research Laboratories (CCL), who are developing the W-CDMA baseband, and SoC Technology Center (STC), acting as platform designer and responsible for IP consultation, execution and RF (radio) integration.
"Following rigorous evaluation, both CCL and STC have approved CEVA Xpert-Palm's low-power consumption and good cost performance," commented Dr. Bao-Shuh Paul Un and Dr. Chein-Wei Jen, General Directors of CCL and STC.
"Partnering with ITRI is a key element in reaching Taiwan's burgeoning semiconductor industry and the fast growing wireless Original Design Manufacturer sector," said Gideon Wertheizer, EVP of CEVA. "Delivered as a complete DSP platform, Xpert-Palm greatly reduces ITRI's cost and time-to-market in deploying next generation wireless solutions."
Xpert-Palm is available for license today. Built around CEVA's high-performance programmable Palm DSP core, the platform incorporates high-performance Direct Memory Access (DMA) controller, Buffered Time Division Multiplexing Port (BTDMP), high throughput Host Port Interface (HPI), AMBA interface and others. As with all CEVA DSPs, Xpert-Palm licensees can take advantage of a large network of third party companies offering applications, tools and design services solutions.
About The Industrial Technology Research Institute
ITRI is a non-profit R&D organization engaging in applied research and technical service. It was founded in 1973 by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) to attend to the technological needs of Taiwan's industrial development. ITRI has played a vital role in the transformation of the economy from an agriculture-based model to an industrial one. By year 2001 it has grown to a 6,000 people operation, and serves as the technical center for industry and an unofficial arm of the government's industrial policies in Taiwan. Backed by its broad research scope and close industrial ties, ITRI is becoming an increasingly active member in the global industrial R&D community. For more information, please visit www.itri.org.tw
About CEVA, Inc -- The DSP Powerhouse
Headquartered in San Jose, CEVA (Nasdaq:CEVA) (LSE:CVA) is the leading licensor of DSP cores and communications solutions to the semiconductor industry. CEVA markets a portfolio of DSP IP in three integrated areas: CEVA DSPs, CEVA Xpert Open Framework Environment, and CEVA Xpert Applications, all supported by Xpert Integration services. CEVA's products are used in over 50 million devices each year. CEVA was created through the merger of the DSP licensing division of DSP Group, and Parthus Technologies. For more information, visit www.ceva-dsp.com.
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