SigmaTel D-Major to Dominate Audio Decoder Market for MP3 Players by Fall 2002

Business Wire, May 31, 2002

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AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 31, 2002

SigmaTel(R) Inc. announces that by Fall 2002, the D-Major(tm) audio product line will overtake all competition and become the market-leading provider of audio decoders for MP3 flash players.

With a solution that is feature-rich and low-cost, SigmaTel is currently in the design stage with four of the top six MP3 player makers. Market data shows tremendous growth potential and SigmaTel is positioned to dominate the market.

According to Will Strauss with market research firm Forward Concepts, "the portable audio player market will almost double this year to an estimated 13 million units, and continue to grow to the 42 million unit level in 2005." SigmaTel expects portable audio flash players to be a significant portion of the overall portable audio player market.

"The D-Major solution for MP3 players tops the competition on several fronts," says Ron Edgerton, president and CEO of SigmaTel. "The top consumer electronics makers recognize the advantages and have selected SigmaTel as their provider. By this Fall look for SigmaTel to be shipping audio decoders to over 50% of the MP3 flash player market." In addition to the flash player market, the D-Major solution is also well-positioned for portable audio hard-drive and CD-MP3 player designs, which should increase SigmaTel's presence in the overall audio player market even further.

The D-Major solution for MP3 flash players is a true single-chip design making overall bill of material costs more than 30% lower than the competition with form-factor sizes as small as 14.5 square cm. The design also allows for very low power consumption, with as much as 35 hours of playback from a single AA battery. SigmaTel officially supports WMA and MP3 audio formats with security functionality for WMA Digital Rights Management. Because of the single-chip integration, costs are lower, battery life is longer and reliability is higher, all to the benefit of the consumer.

"Look for multiple design-win announcements from SigmaTel over the next three months," says Edgerton, "and look for the 'Driven by D-Major Audio' logo when making your next MP3 player purchase."

For information on the D-Major audio decoder product line, visit www.sigmatel.com.

About D-Major:

D-Major(tm) audio decoder solutions provide high quality audio playback for portable devices such as MP3-style players, PDAs and cell phones. With D-Major's high level of integration and quality, portable audio devices are attractive to a larger audience because of a lower system cost.

About SigmaTel:

SigmaTel, a provider of integrated circuit (IC) design, is converting the real world into a digital experience with its innovative mixed-signal solutions for the digital audio and wireless infrared markets. Since its inception, SigmaTel has built a strong reputation as an innovative developer of mixed-signal ICs, by being first to market with several highly integrated designs. The privately held company, based in Austin, Texas, is committed to providing customers with high performance products along with superior customer service. For more information, visit SigmaTel's Web site at www.sigmatel.com.

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