London – 12th January 2010: Frontier Silicon, the market-leading supplier of digital radio technology worldwide, has become the first company to achieve certification under the latest Windows 7 logo program. Version 1.5 was launched by Microsoft Corp. in December and in less than a month; Frontier successfully certified its Venice 6.2 module and associated streaming audio software. In doing so, Frontier became the first company in the world to have its Network Media Device (NMD) and Digital Media Renderer (DMR) solutions certified by Microsoft.

Frontier Silicon’s streaming audio solution enables listener’s easy access to their digital music library stored on a PC or home media server via their home audio devices. NMD technology allows a media server to stream audio around the home to each connected audio device. DMR allows the user to browse and play audio from a media server via the home network to their audio system. Products displaying the Windows 7 logo provide consumers with confidence that the device will connect seamlessly with their Windows 7-based PC.

To ensure the highest level of robustness and interoperability, Frontier has also certified its technology against the leading audio streaming industry standards including Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) and Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA). Users have a choice of connecting to their home network through wired Ethernet or wirelessly via a Wi-Fi certified interface.

By completing the Windows 7 logo certification, Frontier Silicon is able to offer OEMs a quick-to-market route to have their end products logo certified increasing saleability to the end consumer.

Two of Frontier Silicon’s customers, TEAC and Roberts Radio are the first to benefit. Built on Venice 6.2 and featuring Frontier’s latest Internet radio software IR2.1, their audio streaming Internet radios are the first to conform with Microsoft’s latest Windows 7 logo program.

Gerry Thorn, Product Director, Roberts Radio commented “As a leading radio brand in the UK it is vital our customers feel at ease when it comes to connecting their Wi-Fi radios to their home network. By displaying the Windows 7 logo our customers are assured of the best possible user experience.”

Hiroshi Tokushige, General Manager of Consumer Products Division, TEAC added “As a global audio brand it is vital our products work seamlessly within any home network. Frontier Silicon has gone to great effort to ensure the underlying technology is as robust as can be by interoperating with the widest range of industry standards.”

About Frontier Silicon Limited

Frontier Silicon is the world’s leading supplier of integrated circuits and modules for digital audio receiver products and mobile digital TV. Established in 2001 as a privately funded fabless semiconductor company, Frontier Silicon has over 120 employees. The company is based in London, England, with design centres in Cambridge and Shannon. Frontier Silicon also has branch offices and technical support representation in Hong Kong, China and Japan. Products include complete solutions for digital audio systems including DAB, Internet radio and mobile TV, from silicon through software to production-ready platform designs.

Customers include Bang & Olufsen, Bose, Bush, Cyrus, Denon, Goodmans, Grundig, harman/kardon, Hitachi, JVC, Magic Box, Ministry of Sound, NAD, Onkyo, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, PURE, Revo, Roberts, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, Sony, TEAC, and Yamaha.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Triad Semiconductor Inc., the industry’s leading supplier of via-configurable mixed-signal ASICs, today announced the first system-on-chip (SoC) to integrate the world-class ARM® Cortex™-M0 with the via-configurable analog and digital functions needed to rapidly and inexpensively deliver embedded mixed-signal solutions. Triad’s Mocha-1™ array provides access to world-class ARM 32-bit processing performance combined with Triad’s silicon-proven via-configurable array (VCA) technology, allowing electronic system designers to customize analog and digital features with lower power consumption and greater system cost savings than last-generation ASIC solutions.

Embedded processors are everywhere, from toothbrushes to automobiles. The processing requirements for these microprocessors continue to increase along with the need for enhanced, customized analog and digital features. The Mocha-1 platform enables integration of complete mixed-signal SoCs by combining the industry-standard Cortex-M0 processor, backed by the ARM development ecosystem, with Triad’s VCA technology. Developers are able to integrate entire existing discrete PC board-level designs into the Mocha-1 platform.

Triad’s VCA technology combines silicon-proven analog, digital, memory and microprocessor resources on a single ASIC die. These resources are overlaid with a global routing fabric. Unique to Triad’s approach, all of the resources on a VCA are configured by placing vias within the global routing fabric. Vias are placed on the VCA using Triad’s advanced, analog-aware, via-only automatic place-and-route software, which configures and interconnects the entire VCA without the need for full-custom manual layout. This approach shortens time to prototypes and time to market, reduces development and tooling costs, and accelerates the design process by enabling the reuse of proven mixed-signal IP blocks.

“The Mocha-1 platform is the first and only method to combine ARM processing with configurable analog and digital,” said Jim Kemerling, vice president and CTO of Triad Semiconductor. “It is ideal for any applications that require 32-bit performance in an 8-bit or 16-bit footprint with ultra-low power consumption. Our single-mask VCA technology provides safe, rapid prototyping and production at low cost.”

Triad’s Mocha-1 integrates a Cortex-M0 32-bit processor running at 25MHz with 32Kbytes of EEPROM memory, 24Kbytes of SRAM, 75,000 gates of user configurable logic, and a wide selection of analog resources including op-amps, DACs, ADCs, resistors, capacitors, transistors and switches. Combining the Cortex-M0 with these configurable analog and digital resources allows Mocha-1 to realize a wide range of single-chip, mixed-signal SoC solutions for industrial, medical, sensor, Bluetooth low energy, and military/aerospace applications.

Pricing and Availability

Mocha-1 provides configurable ASIC solutions unique to each customer. Price is a function of package and production volume, ranging from US $7.00 to $15.00 per ASIC, with customer-optimized solutions available for under $2.00 in high volume applications. Triad is now accepting customer designs for the Mocha-1 array, with silicon being delivered in Q1.

About Triad Semiconductor, Inc.

Triad Semiconductor, Inc., a privately held fabless semiconductor company with headquarters in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, develops, prototypes and produces mixed-signal ASICs. The company’s groundbreaking via-configurable array (VCA) technology delivers ASICs with silicon-proven analog and digital functions more quickly and at lower cost than traditional full-custom approaches. Triad’s single-mask, via-only routing cuts engineering effort and fabrication time, resulting in fast-turn prototypes and allowing design changes to be made at minimal cost. For more information, please visit www.triadsemi.com or call (336) 774-2150.