Builds on Cyclone Device’s Success of 3 Million Devices Shipped and More Than 3,000 Customers
San Jose, Calif., June 28, 2004—When Altera introduced the first Cyclone™ family in 2002, the company targeted high-volume, low-cost end markets where FPGAs were never an option. Since that time, Cyclone devices have become synonymous with low-cost FPGAs. Today, the company extends this success with the introduction of the new, lower-cost Cyclone II family. At three times the logic density and 30 percent lower cost than the first-generation family, Cyclone II devices build on the momentum Altera has established with customers who have discovered Cyclone FPGAs as a compelling alternative to expensive, high-risk ASICs and ASSPs.
With more than 3 million Cyclone units shipped today and over 3,000 customers around the world, the first-generation Cyclone family has had a substantial impact on the high-volume, low-cost digital consumer market, where more than a third of the units have been shipped. According to Gartner Dataquest, the consumer electronics market alone for FPGAs will reach $390 million in 2004 and is expected to grow to $1.16 billion by 2008, a CAGR of 31.9 percent. This highly competitive market, driven by shortened design cycles and the need for continuous innovation, reaps maximum benefits from the flexibility of low-cost programmable logic. Cyclone devices have also gained significant traction in the office automation, networking, and industrial markets, often in conjunction with Altera’s Nios® soft-core processor.
“As low-complexity FPGA device costs continue to drop and become more price-competitive with ASICs, their content will increase in many consumer applications,†said Bryan Lewis, vice president of research and chief semiconductor analyst at Gartner Research.
<>Cyclone FPGAs as Customers’ Competitive Edge“The digital consumer market is hot and getting hotter, and Cyclone FPGAs are in some of the newest, most advanced systems,†said Erik Cleage, Altera’s senior vice president of marketing. “Getting customers involved in the product definition of the first-generation Cyclone family gave us valuable insight into their end markets and allowed us to deliver the right products at the right time and in volume.†Cleage went on to explain, “The Cyclone II family, with even lower costs and more capability, will allow an even broader range of high-volume products to enjoy the benefits of Cyclone FPGAs. Manufacturers now have the ability to stay ahead of the competition by getting their end products to store shelves quickly and rapidly updating their products with new features and functions.â€
<>TSMC as Altera’s Competitive Edge###