SigmaTel Introduces a D-Major Audio Decoder Designed to Enable MP3 Playback on USB Portable Mass Storage Drives

Business Wire, Jan 14, 2003

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 14, 2003

SigmaTel(R) Inc. today introduced its latest D-Major(tm) product designed specifically to enable MP3 playback on USB portable mass storage drives.

By taking advantage of the already successful audio decoder technology used in MP3 players, such as the latest SONICBlue(tm) Rio(R) players, SigmaTel is now positioning its next line of products on a fast-growing USB portable mass storage market.

A USB portable flash-based storage drive is a small, thumb-sized device that plugs directly into the USB port of a PC or laptop. With no cords to plug in and with no drivers to install (since you use the USB Mass Storage drivers included with the Windows and Macintosh operating systems), it allows direct, instant access for uploading or downloading digital information.

Storage capacities for USB portable drives range from 8MB to 2.1GB, far greater than today's traditional floppy drive (at 1.44MB). Their size and portability make these devices one of the most revolutionary on the market today, allowing one to carry a large amount of information literally in their pocket.

The STMP1342, SigmaTel's latest product, enables all of the capabilities that current USB portable drives offer with several incredible added benefits.

For one, the D-Major solution, by adding a power source and earphone jack to the design, allows the USB drive to transform into an MP3 player! Because of SigmaTel patented technologies, this player could run for as long as 35 hours on a single AA battery, decode both MP3 and WMA digital audio formats and support DRM (Digital Rights Management) for secure audio content.

USB portable storage drives have made their way onto store shelves and into major computer maker offerings within the past six months and continue to be well received by both consumers and by hardware reviewers within the press. The solution that SigmaTel brings is a unique one: the ability to bring MP3 audio playback functionality to the current portable-storage-only designs on the market today.

"There is a definite surge of interest for these new flash storage devices," says Danny Mulligan, general manager of the audio decoder business unit at SigmaTel. "This latest D- Major product will not only support flash-based USB storage as it is available today, but will also enable the drive to transform into a portable MP3 player ... just imagine if you could hit a `play' button on a floppy disk and listen to your favorite music."

The STMP1342 sells for approximately $10/10k in quantity. For more information on D-Major audio and the STMP1342, as well as development kit information and sales support, please 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.

D-Major is a trademark and SigmaTel is a registered trademark of SigmaTel. SONICblue and Dual-Deck are trademarks of SONICblue Incorporated. Rio, ReplayTV and Go-Video are registered trademarks of SONICblue Incorporated. All other products and brand names as they appear in this release are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. All specifications may be changed without notice.