REDMOND, Wash., June 30, 1998 — Microsoft Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. have announced a significant expansion of their existing business and development relationship regarding the Microsoft® Windows® CE operating system. Hitachi will establish a dedicated development organization focused on building new Windows CE-based solutions for its customers, with broad support and cooperation from Microsoft. Microsoft will provide this new organization with broader access to Windows CE technology, enabling Hitachi to rapidly build a wide range of customer solutions powered by Windows CE.
Both companies see immediate opportunities for their customers in these three areas:
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Continuous evolution of PC Companion products. Hitachi was one of the first supporters of the Handheld PC and recently released its second-generation H/PC. Moving forward, both companies will work on providing additional PC Companion products around Hitachi’s 32-bit SuperH
™
RISC microprocessor.
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Development of a home multimedia station that can manipulate, integrate, store and play digital data from various sources, including television, satellite broadcasts, the Internet, digital cameras, local storage media and DVD.
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Real-time capabilities. Microsoft has already announced it will incorporate hard real-time capabilities into Windows CE. Hitachi’s expertise in this area, together with its Dependable Autonomous Hard Real-time Management (DARMA) technology,* will also provide customers with additional hard real-time solutions based on Windows CE.
“Hitachi selected Windows CE because of its synergy with Windows NT® and its potential for the future,”
said Dr. Tsutomu Kanai, president and representative director of Hitachi Ltd.
“Microsoft is a worldwide leader in software for office and home computers with its Windows family of operating systems. Hitachi is one of the world’s largest companies, covering a wide range of markets and product applications, including enterprise systems, consumer products, real-time industrial control systems and electronic components. Through the combined strengths of our two companies, we envision an environment of seamless data networks across user environments and product areas.”
“We are very excited about this new level of cooperation between Microsoft and Hitachi,”
said Bill Gates, chairman and CEO of Microsoft.
“The real beneficiaries of this combined effort will be the businesspeople and consumers who, in coming years, will be able to incorporate these new products into their daily lives and benefit from the increased productivity and entertainment provided by these connected, intelligent digital devices.”
Hitachi has been a key supplier of technology for Windows CE since its introduction. The Hitachi SuperH microprocessor is used by six of the 10 OEM suppliers of Handheld PCs, and Hitachi’s development boards are used by many hardware firms for their Windows CE-based development efforts.
Hitachi Ltd., with headquarters in Tokyo, is one of the world’s leading global electronics companies, with fiscal 1997 (ending March 31, 1998) consolidated sales of 8,417 billion
($63.8 billion).** The company manufactures and markets a wide range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products, and power and industrial equipment. For more information on Hitachi Ltd., please visit Hitachi’s Web site at (http://www.hitachi.co.jp/) .
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and
personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
*DARMA or Dependable Autonomous Hard Real-time Management technology, developed by Hitachi, contributes to exacting the best of the Windows operating system while maintaining legacy software compatibility, fault-tolerant system operation and overnight system failure analysis and fix.
**At an exchange rate of 132 yen to the dollar.
Microsoft, Windows and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
SuperH is trademark of Hitachi Ltd. Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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