Symbian and Texas Instruments collaborate on Hardware Accelerator API to maximize performance and power efficiency on Symbian OS

Texas Instruments first company to implement Symbian OS Hardware Accelerator API for TI's OMAP1510™ Processor

Symbian Developer Expo - London, UK (April 23, 2002) - Responding to the increasing demand for higher quality multimedia-rich applications, Symbian and Texas Instruments Incorporated (NYSE:TXN) (TI), today announced the availability of a Hardware Accelerator API (HWA) in Symbian OS. This new API ships in Symbian OS v7.0 enabling faster development of innovative 2.5G and 3G wireless data, multimedia and voice applications and services.

Texas Instruments is the first company to provide an implementation of the Symbian OS Hardware Accelerator API, taking full advantage of the industry leading DSP - based OMAP1510 processors. This enables wireless application developers and handset manufacturers to easily access more optimized and enriched multimedia applications and services in areas such as multimedia messaging (MMS), video, and Internet audio downloads, gaming, e-mail, real-time Web browsing, advanced security and location-based services.

Software developers and mobile manufacturers see their software investments secured for the long term as a result of the API offered as standard interface in Symbian OS v7.0. With TI's OMAP processors, developers and mobile manufacturers can also leverage the best-in-class performance and power efficiency of TI's DSPs.

Texas Instruments
"With the Symbian OS Hardware Accelerator API, Symbian and TI have provided developers with the tools they need to get a headstart on designing even richer applications for digital wireless handsets and mobile Internet devices," said Paul Werp, worldwide director, OMAP marketing, Texas Instruments.

Symbian
"Our collaboration with TI on this new hardware accelerator API enables compelling services for mobile phones and easy development of 2.5G and 3G multimedia applications for Symbian OS, increasing the demand for the next generation of Symbian OS phones," said Gilles Allain, Vice-President, Account Management and Partnerships, Symbian. "Symbian welcomes TI as the first company to provide an implementation of the API and looks forward to extending options to developers by encouraging other companies to implement solutions on the hardware accelerator API."

Optimized performance of the Texas Instruments System/Solution

By allowing the direct management of the OMAP processor-based resources, the Symbian OS Hardware Accelerator API enables developers to optimize the partitioning of functions between the RISC processor and the DSP in the OMAP1510. Therefore, by leveraging the RISC and the DSP architectures specificities, an optimal performance and efficiency of the system/solution is enabled.

The Symbian OS Hardware Accelerator API will enable designers to leverage the high-performance multimedia codecs running on the DSP core and enable TI's OMAP and Symbian OS developers to access the full set of DSP software libraries available from TI's DSP third-party developers network, further enabling the development of high-level multimedia applications.

Availability

Symbian OS HWA API and the implementation for TI's OMAP1510 processors are available today.

About Symbian

Symbian is a software licensing company, owned by wireless industry leaders, that is the trusted supplier of the advanced, open, standard operating system for data-enabled mobile phones. Symbian's mission is to create a mass-market for Symbian OS mobile phones by enabling its licensees to build winning products.

About Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments Incorporated is the world leader in digital signal processing and analog technologies, the semiconductor engines of the Internet age. In addition to semiconductor, the company's businesses also include Sensors & Controls, and Educational & Productivity Solutions. TI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has design, manufacturing or sales operations in more than 25 countries.

Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TXN.

OMAP is a trademark of Texas Instruments Incorporated. Symbian and Symbian OS are trademarks of Symbian Ltd. All product and company names mentioned herein may be registered trademarks or trademarks of the respective referenced company(s).