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C8051 core no longer available

Transilica Inc. Incorporates CAST 8051 IP Core in Advanced Applications

June 18, 2001, Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey — Semiconductor intellectual property (IP) provider, CAST, Inc., announced today that Transilica Inc. has chosen the company’s 8051-compatible microprocessor cores to serve as embedded controllers for advanced new communications products.

Transilica Inc. surveyed the competitive 8051 core market and found that CAST provided the best combination of functionality, performance, customization, pricing and licensing flexibility for their particular needs. Also critical was the on-chip debugging capability CAST provides through its partnership with First Silicon Solutions, Inc (www.fs2.com).

Transilica uses a modified CAST C8051 core as the controller in its new OneChip™ integrated Bluetooth solution. Compared with common alternatives such as the ARM™ or MIPS™ processors, the 8051 provides sufficient processing capability with significantly less cost and simpler licensing details, helping Transilica get the OneChip™ to market quicker with highly-competitive product pricing.

“Creating the world’s smallest integrated Bluetooth system was not without its challenges; however, both design and debug have gone remarkably smooth, thanks in part to the products and support from CAST and FS2,” said Jacob Hirbawi, director of ASIC development for Transilica. “We went to an FPGA first, to test out the system, and the embedded debugging features made a huge difference. We then had real confidence as we went forward to high-volume ASIC production.”

The debugging capability provided by CAST’s FS2 option adds an on-chip instrumentation (OCI™) block to the core that makes it accessible and controllable even when embedded deep within the logic of a complex system-on-chip design. The OCI is economical in its use of chip area and its extensions are scalable: designers can trade off extra debugging power against extra gate usage during synthesis.

About Transilica Inc.

Transilica Inc. is a rapidly growing fabless semiconductor company leading the innovation of system-on-chip wireless technology. Transilica has built a world-class team of RF CMOS, ASIC, and integrated software design engineers developing low power wireless devices for headsets, phones, PDAs, notebooks, printers, keyboards, digital cameras and many other consumer and enterprise products. Founded in 1999, Transilica is headquartered in San Diego, CA with subsidiaries in Taiwan, Singapore and Tokyo. The company's investors include Softbank Venture Capital, Smart Technology Ventures, Lakshmi Ventures, Gamelan Capital Fund, CDIB & Partners Investment Holding Corporation (f/k/a Southeast Asia Investment Holdings), R.O.C. Venture Company Ltd., Joinwin Investment Co. Ltd., Siliconware Investment Co. Ltd. and IBT Venture Co. Transilica’s OneChip™, the world’s smallest fully integrated Bluetooth system-on-chip solution, combines all Bluetooth components including the RF transceiver, baseband modem, microprocessor, SRAM and flash memory into one eight square millimeter BGA chip. OneChip also provides integrated serial port, USB or Codec interfaces. More information is available at www.transilica.com.
Contact: Susan Benton, Alexander Ogilvy PR, 310-407-7807, sbenton@alexanderogilvy.com

About CAST, Inc.

CAST provides practical, affordable IP cores and services for designers of 8- and 16-bit microprocessor-based systems. Operating since 1993, the company has a reputation for quality products, flexible licensing, and responsive, comprehensive technical support. The company is located near New York City, and works with an international network of IP developers and distributors.