SMART Modular Technologies Targets Kiosk, ATM and Digital Signage With XceedPC(TM)/Dx Family

Market Wire, April, 2008

SMART Modular Technologies (WWH), Inc. (SMART) (NASDAQ: SMOD), a leading independent manufacturer of memory modules, solid state drives, embedded computing subsystems, and TFT-LCD display products, announced today its XceedPC/Dx line of high-performance embedded PCs using Intel® Socket 775 CPUs. The RoHS-compliant XceedPC/Dx line combines high performance, cost-effective CPUs with the graphics, storage, and connectivity features needed in the kiosk, ATM, and digital signage markets. Supporting Windows® XP Pro, Windows XP Embedded, and Linux 2.6, the XceedPC/Dx embedded PCs are compatible with standard PC development tools, environments, and applications.

SMART's XceedPC/Dx products feature a total volume of less than 385 in3 with a chassis approximately 35 percent smaller than a small form-factor (SFF) PC and 80 percent smaller than a mini-tower desktop PC. Incorporating all front-panel I/O and power connectors into the design, the XceedPC/Dx products greatly simplify integration, installation, and field maintenance in space limited applications.

Many kiosk, ATM, and digital signage applications have traditionally used consumer PCs, which are not designed for embedded applications. For instance, consumer PCs typically lack the necessary I/O and graphics ports to address commercial embedded applications, requiring OEMs to purchase and install third party cards, which increases cost. In addition, the physical configuration of a consumer PC complicates the design, manufacturing, and installation of cable assemblies and wire harnesses within a kiosk. OEMs using consumer PCs must also contend with regularly changing hardware configurations and the associated drivers and software, which dramatically impacts software development and field service. Lastly, field failures of hard disk drives (HDDs), power supplies, and fans in consumer PCs increase operational costs.

When using the XceedPC/Dx embedded computers, the three most significant causes of field failures -- HDDs, fans, and power supplies -- can be addressed easily in the field with minimal effort, thereby reducing operational costs. Customers using SMART's XceedLite(TM) serial ATA (SATA) solid state drive (SSD) will also benefit from more than a 5x improvement in mean time between failures (MTBF), greatly reducing the likelihood of field failures.

"As deployments have grown from tens of units into thousands of platforms with an operational life surpassing five years, the disadvantages of using consumer PCs have become apparent," observed Joe Kotas, SMART's Vice President of Business Development for Display and Embedded Products. "SMART's XceedPC/Dx products were specifically designed to address the major reliability issues encountered with the consumer PCs and provide a cost-effective alternative -- an embedded PC platform with the performance, reliability, and longevity our OEM customers need."

This initial release of the XceedPC/Dx family of embedded PCs includes three products with different CPU options. The XceedPC/D1 is based on the Intel Celeron® D CPU, the XceedPC/D2 features the Intel Pentium® 4 and Pentium D CPU, and the XceedPC/D3 supports the Intel Core(TM) 2 Duo CPU.

The major features for all three models include:

  --  Memory
      --  DDR2 DRAM up to 4GB
  --  Graphics options
      --  Single VGA graphics port supported by Intel 950 chipset graphics
      --  Dual graphics configuration driven by an NVIDIA® 8400 GPU
  --  Storage options
      --  Traditional 2.5" SATA HDDs available from 80GB to 220GB
      --  High-reliability XceedLite SATA SSDs from 2GB to 32GB
  --  Serial I/O options
      --  1 x RS232 port and 8 x USB 2.0 ports
      --  5 x RS232 ports and 6 x USB 2.0 ports
  --  Communication and connectivity options
      --  1 x 10/100/1000 Ethernet
      --  Wireless 802.11a/b option
      --  V.92 analog modem option

Priced competitively with consumer class SFF PCs, a 3.4GHz Celeron-based XceedPC-D1 equipped with 5 serial ports, 6 USB ports, one VGA port, 1 GB of DRAM, Windows XP Pro, and SMART's standard three year warranty, is priced below $650 for minimum order quantities of 1,000. The XceedPC/D1, XceedPC/D2, and XceedPC/D3, which are long-life products, are sampling now.

SMART will showcase its Embedded and Display products at booth #541 at Kioskcom to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, from April 16-17, 2008. Additional information regarding SMART's Embedded and Display products can be found at www.smartm.com .

About SMART

SMART Modular Technologies is a leading provider of memory products, offering more than 500 standard and custom products to top-tier OEMs in the computer, industrial, networking, and telecommunications sectors. Taking innovations from the design stage through manufacturing and delivery, SMART has developed a comprehensive memory product line that includes DRAM, SRAM, and Flash in various form factors. Through its subsidiary, Adtron Corporation, SMART offers high performance, high-capacity solid state drives for enterprise, defense/aerospace, industrial automation, medical, and transportation markets. SMART's Display Products Group designs, manufactures and sells thin film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (LCD) solutions to customers developing casino gaming systems as well as embedded applications such as kiosk, ATM, point-of-service, and industrial control systems. SMART's presence in the US, Europe, Asia, and Latin America enables it to provide its customers with proven expertise in international logistics, asset management, and supply-chain management worldwide. More information on SMART can be obtained at http://www.smartm.com .