Atmel Adopts Configurable ARC(TM) Video Subsystem for Multimedia Handheld Devices

ARC's Configurable Subsystem Solution Wins Acceptance Over Fixed Architecture Alternative at Major ASSP Manufacturer

ELSTREE, England--Aug. 2, 2006--ARC International today announced that Atmel® Corporation, a worldwide leader in the design, manufacturing and marketing of advanced semiconductors, has taken a license for the ARC(TM) Video Subsystem.

"We evaluated several alternatives before making our decision," said Tassos Markas, Director of Multimedia at Atmel Corporation. "ARC's Video Subsystem was compelling because it met the necessary criteria of low-cost and small size, while observing our power budget. In addition, the ARC Video Configurable Subsystem provided us with a solution that will enable us to quickly port our video and imaging technologies on to a programmable platform.

"Atmel's adoption of the ARC Video Subsystem underscores the industry trend toward configurable platforms and away from single-function products," said Derek Meyer, senior vice president of sales and marketing at ARC International. "By leveraging the power of ARC's patented configurability, our customers have the ability to add their proprietary value so the resulting ASSP can command a higher price in the marketplace. This is a benefit that fixed architecture vendors cannot offer."

About the ARC(TM) Video Subsystem

The ARC Video Subsystem is based upon an ARC 700 family core that is coupled with the company's award winning single instruction multiple data (SIMD) accelerator, which was specifically designed for video and audio processing. A media-centric DMA engine incorporated in the ARC Video Subsystem is highly tuned to efficiently handle multimedia packet transfers.

The ARC Video Subsystem is programmable, enabling the customer to support a wide range of codecs and algorithms. Because it's based upon an ARC 700 family core, the subsystem can run at up to 533 MHz in a 0.13 micron process, and developers can use the same software development tools that support a 700-class processor.

The ARC SIMD accelerator in the Video Subsystem was developed to exploit data parallelism that is abundant in media applications. A single instruction can compute up to eight separate 16-bit video pixels in parallel through the use of a 128-bit wide data path. ARC's SIMD accelerator utilizes in excess of 100 new vector instructions that were specifically selected to accelerate algorithms commonly used in video and imaging applications, such as discrete cosine transforms and filters. It is directly coupled with the configurable 700 family core in the subsystem, and is more efficient than using a fixed core with a bus-connected hardwired co-processor.

About ARC International plc

ARC International is the world leader in low-power, high-performance 32-bit configurable CPU/DSP processor cores, subsystems, real-time operating systems and development tools for embedded system design. ARC's patented configurable CPU technology assists customers in the development of next generation digital media, consumer and communications devices, resulting in lower cost, higher performance SoC products.

ARC International maintains a worldwide presence with corporate offices in San Jose, California, USA and Elstree, UK. The company has research and development offices located in England and the United States. For more information please visit the ARC website at: www.ARC.com. ARC International is listed on the London Stock Exchange as ARC International plc (LSE:ARK - News).

ARC, the ARC logo and ARC-Based are trademarks or registered trademarks of ARC International. All other brands or product names contained herein are the property of their respective owners. This press release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For factors that could cause actual results to differ, visit the company's Website as well as the listing particulars filed with the United Kingdom Listing Authority and the Registrar of Companies in England and Wales.

About Atmel

Atmel is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of microcontrollers, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory and radio frequency (RF) components. Leveraging one of the industry's broadest intellectual property (IP) technology portfolios, Atmel is able to provide the electronics industry with complete system solutions. Focused on consumer, industrial, security, communications, computing and automotive markets, Atmel ICs can be found Everywhere You Are®.