Nordic Semiconductor opens regional sales office in Tokyo to further enhance its presence in the Japanese market and provide support for its existing local distributors

Oslo, Norway – June 30, 2006 – Nordic Semiconductor ASA (OSE: NOD) today announced that it has opened its first Japanese regional sales office in Tokyo and appointed Nori Shibuya as the regional sales manager.
 
The office is situated at Minato-Ku in Tokyo (Phone: +81 3 6807 8580) and will offer customers both technical and commercial support as well as application-specific design guidance.
 
“This office reflects the importance Nordic Semiconductor is placing on the Japanese market and will enable us to provide more focused, localized support to both of our existing distributors in Japan – Marubeni Solutions [www.msol.co.jp] and Tomuki [www.tomuki.co.jp],” comments Shibuya.
 
He continues: “Japan is an extremely competitive market for Nordic Semiconductor and we are working hard to establish our name and presence here especially in the consumer and industrial wireless transceiver markets. For example, our nRF24AP1™ ultra-low power 2.4-GHz transceiver for wireless communication with Dynastream Innovation’s production-proven low-power network protocol ANT, is an ideal solution for industrial network applications.
 
“Having joined Nordic Semiconductor from one of its competitors, I know that the company has significantly superior, low power, low cost, wireless transceivers that offer both performance and ease-of-design through a high degree of integration. For example, our nRF24E1™ and nRF24E2™ low cost transceivers include an embedded industry standard 8051 MCU core, and a full range of peripherals to create complete low cost SoCs for global 2.4 GHz operation.
 
“Nordic is an extremely professional company with customer support second-to-none and a growth rate that means it is well on target to be one of the world’s largest wireless transceiver suppliers over the coming years. I am therefore aiming to show Japanese companies and designers that there are viable alternatives to their existing suppliers both in terms of technology and customer support and focus.”
 
Nordic Semiconductor offers a range of 433-, 868- or 915-MHz and 2.4-GHz ISM band proprietary transceivers for a wide range of relatively low data rate applications. Examples include personal area networks targeted by Bluetooth (including PC, and sports peripherals plus wireless gaming controllers and MP3 audio streaming speakers and headphones); and industrial applications targeted by ZigBee (such as many-node, low-power consumption industrial networks and home automation).
 
Because Nordic’s solutions are not standards-based, however, they are significantly easier, simpler and more cost effective to implement in applications that only require wireless communication between their own parts and sub-systems.
 
“These are exciting times for Nordic Semiconductor in Japan,” concludes Nordic Semiconductor CEO Svenn-Tore Larsen. “Our transceivers and technical customer support teams are geared towards the requirements of high volume, short life cycle, low cost, consumer and industrial wireless products for which Japan is expert at producing. I feel we can genuinely add real value to any Japanese company currently developing such products.”
 
About Nordic Semiconductor ASA

Nordic Semiconductor (formerly Nordic VLSI) is a Norwegian fabless semiconductor company focusing on delivering world-best wireless communication solutions in the license-free ISM bands. The company, which was originally founded in 1983 as a traditional ASIC design house, produces both standard products and custom SoCs. It also offers development services for other companies to access its world leading, in-house RF/mixed-signal design and advanced back-end/physical engineering expertise.
 
The company’s innovative range of wireless solutions includes:
 

• The nRF905™ single-chip multiband radio transceiver for the 433-, 868- or 915-MHz ISM band;
• The nRF9E5™ low-cost, single-chip system with fully integrated RF transceiver for the 433-, 868- or 915-MHz ISM band;
• The nRF2401A™ and nRF2402™ compact, lowest cost, lowest current consumption and low voltage supply 2.4-GHz RF transceivers;
• The nRF24E1™ and nRF24E2™ low cost transceivers paired with the industry standard 8051 MCU core and leading peripherals to create the world’s first complete low cost SoCs for global 2.4 GHz operation;
• The nRF24Z1™ single chip system for CD quality audio streaming of up to16 bit, 48 kHz audio;
• The nRF24AP1™ ultra-low power 2.4-GHz transceiver for wireless communication with Dynastream Innovation’s production-proven low-power network protocol, ANT;
• The nRF24L01™ ultra-low cost and power 2.4-GHz transceiver with MultiCeiver technology supporting simultaneous communications with up to six wireless devices.

 
Nordic Semiconductor nRF24xx range of 2.4GHz-transceiver and transmitter devices are aimed at applications such as wireless audio (e.g. MP3 and portable CD player headphones and PC speakers), gamepads, keyboards/mice and intelligent sports equipment. The latest nRF24L01 family, for instance, is targeted at ultra-low cost and power applications such as wireless desktops and intelligent (e.g. wristwatch-based) sports equipment.
 
The custom/consulting services division derives its revenue from working with specific customers to integrate Nordic’s wireless solutions into customer ASICs. Nordic often then continues to manufacture the chip in the long-term for the customer.
 
The data conversion business area develops and sells IP for use within in-house projects, third-party ASIC design and standard products. The products are leading edge ADCs and DACs for use in areas such as digital photography, WLANs and video.
 
Nordic’s products are all manufactured in ultra modern semiconductor process technologies through strong relationships with world-best manufacturing facilities. Sales are primarily made through a carefully selected worldwide distribution network. The company has offices in Trondheim and Oslo, Norway, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan, and is listed on the Norwegian Stock Exchange (OSX: NOD). All operations are managed according to the ISO 9001:2000-approved quality assurance system.