Microsoft and Texas Instruments Announce Collaboration To Enable Programmable DSP Technology on Windows CE

REDMOND, Wash., and DALLAS, March 22, 2000 — Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) and Texas Instruments Inc. (TI) (NYSE
“TXN” ) today announced that they will collaborate to enable Microsoft® Windows® CE-based application and embedded system development utilizing the real-time functionality and performance of TI’s industry-leading programmable digital signal processors (DSPs). This effort will expand the development of emerging Internet appliances and embedded solutions among consumers and business users.

This relationship allows developers to benefit from increased design flexibility and performance enabled by fast and easy utilization of TI’s programmable DSP technology with the Windows CE operating system. Windows CE enables developers to quickly build rich, connected embedded solutions based on the familiar Win32® API. This collaboration will enable a wide range of embedded solutions with broadband and multimedia functionality including wireless Internet access, streaming audio and video, still imaging, videoconferencing, and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP).

“The richness and flexibility of the Windows CE platform with programmable DSPs provides an exciting combination that enables partners and customers to take embedded systems to new levels of performance and connectivity,”
said Bill Veghte, general manager at Microsoft.
“We are excited to be working with Texas Instruments, an industry-leading provider of DSP architectures and tools, to enable this combination with Windows CE.”

Programmable DSP technology is the key to providing unsurpassed system performance at the low power required by mobile Internet and embedded applications. Today, TI DSPs function as the processing engine in a wide range of systems including more than 60 percent of digital wireless handsets (source: Dataquest, July 26, 1999). As a result of this collaboration, developers for Windows CE will soon be able to directly target TI’s Open Multimedia Application Platform (OMAP TM ), enabled by the recently announced TMS320C55x DSP, to design programs for advanced wireless Internet access, including future voice, data and video functions such as digital audio, e-commerce and real-time video streaming on wireless handsets.

“We are delighted that Microsoft and its thousands of developers for Windows CE will utilize the power and performance of TI’s leading DSP technology,”
said Mike Hames, vice president of DSP Technology at TI.
“By combining voice, audio, data and video into very exciting new applications such as personal communications devices, Windows CE and TI solutions will keep people on the cutting edge of the Internet Age.”

More information is available at http://www.ti.com/sc/docs/general/dsp/momentum/ and http://www.microsoft.com/embedded/ .

About Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments Inc. is a global semiconductor company and the world’s leading designer and supplier of digital signal processing and analog technologies, the engines driving the digitalization of electronics. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company’s businesses also include materials and controls, education and productivity solutions, and digital imaging. The company has manufacturing or sales operations in more than 25 countries.

Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TXN. More information is located on the World Wide Web at http://www.ti.com/ .

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software – any time, any place and on any device.

Microsoft, Windows and Win32 are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

Texas Instruments logo, product, service names and registered trademarks are trademarks of Texas Instruments.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft home page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages.

Related Posts