Franklin Chooses Atmel Corporation's ARM9 Core-based ASIC for Next Generation Handheld Products
Platform IP-based Design Approach is Key

Colorado Springs, CO, April 14, 2003.

Atmel® Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML) and Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. (AMEX: FEP) announced today that Franklin has chosen an Atmel ARM® core-based ASIC to power its next generation of handheld consumer products. Franklin is the worldwide market leader in handheld electronic reference books, and Atmel is a premier provider of advanced semiconductors. Atmel's family of ASICs based on ARM® technology provides all the key ingredients, including a line of ARM core-based standard products for immediate prototyping and software development, qualified-in-silicon hardware blocks, a low-power 0.18-micron standard cell library and vast experience with over 70 ARM core-based designs completed in the last five years.

"The Atmel choice was a solid decision. Their flagship ARM core-based product line helped us to standardize on our next generation platform, integrate as much as we could for a one-chip solution and have it all come together quickly," commented Kurt Goszyk, Chief Technology Officer, Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc.

"The ARM architecture is enabling the new generation of handheld devices to be more powerful and feature-rich while keeping the low power attributes that ARM is known for," said John Rayfield, VP, US Marketing, ARM. "By working with Atmel and its family of ARM Powered® ASICs, Franklin will be able to make its products as powerful as the latest handheld computer, with great scope for new and innovative multimedia applications."

By combining a powerful ARM9 core with all the right peripherals, Atmel will create a platform that gives Franklin's products a 'Performance-on-Demand' feature. This means it can be 'tuned' to the right performance and power for the given application. Performance for this chip will range from 50 to over 160 MIPS.

This choice of microprocessor plays well with Franklin's broad product line, ranging from dictionaries, translators, and electronic reference books. For example, audio decoding (e.g., MP3, WMA) can be added as a feature using a software upgrade on the same hardware platform. ARM core-based test chips and development platforms supported by Atmel will also ensure that both the software development and chip development are done in parallel. Atmel has a comprehensive line of standard ARM core-based products enabling fast time-to-market and off-the-shelf software tools and operating system ports.

"Atmel serves both sides of the market: standard off-the-shelf ASSPs as well as custom ASICs. It's a combination that appeals to large and small customers alike," says Jim Turley, analyst and editor of Silicon-Insider. "ASSPs can lead to cost-effective ASICs, which can then spin off a new ASSP. It's a great strategy. Although some have questioned the role of ASICs in the future, this business model seems to work quite well."

Atmel is ranked in the top 10 ASIC suppliers in the world and is now targeting more commercial applications. More details on the Franklin products utilizing Atmel's range of ARM core-based ASICs will be announced later this year. Franklin's high quality electronic reference content is available for any platform including today's popular Palm®, Windows CE®, pocket PC and Symbian™ based handheld devices.