The News

Highest Java™ Performance Achieved by the MIPS32® 24Kc™ Core

02/08/2004

7.5 CM/MHz Performance Using Esmertec’s MIPS® Optimized Software Helps SOC Designers Eliminate Costly Coprocessors for Java™ Intensive Applications

ZURICH, Switzerland and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., August 2, 2004 – Hardware-based solutions for Java execution in consumer embedded applications could be a thing of the past, according to MIPS Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: MIPS).  Along with Esmertec,™ a leading provider of Java™ solutions for embedded devices, the companies announced today that Esmertec’s optimized Jbed™ CDC with FastDAC (Dynamic Adaptive Compiler) running on a MIPS32® 24Kc™ core delivered 7.5 Embedded CaffeineMarks per megahertz. At 550 MHz, this yields 4125 Embedded CaffeineMarks, which is the highest known Java performance in the SOC industry.

Java technology is used in millions of consumer electronics products every year, from set-top boxes and interactive TVs to mobile devices and automotive telematics. To boost Java performance, hardware accelerators are commonly used, but the added silicon can be a significant disadvantage in the cost-sensitive consumer electronics market.  Using Esmertec’s Java solution optimized to the MIPS32 and MIPS64® architectures, SOC designers now can subsume functionality of dedicated Java co-processors and hardware accelerators into software eliminating unneeded silicon. 

The Esmertec Jbed Java solution is part of the growing 0-million plus MIPS ecosystem that provides optimized solutions for software developers and licensees.  Industry leaders such as Dolby, Microsoft, OpenTV, TiVo and others are helping make the MIPS architecture the technology-of-choice for the high-growth digital set-top box market, where the MIPS architecture is used in more than 75 percent of digital cable set-tops.

“The MIPS architecture has long been a leader in consumer applications such as set-top boxes and digital TVs because it enables manufacturers to deliver richer functionality at a desirable price point through a widely available software base,” said Anne-Marie Larkin, CTO of Esmertec. “We’re excited to be the first company to work with MIPS Technologies and offer a leading MIPS-based Java solution with such excellent Java performance benchmarks.”

“In consumer applications where delivering a differentiated low cost solution can mean the difference between market leadership and market obscurity, software-based designs offer tremendous advantages over traditional hardware-based approaches,” said Russ Bell, vice president of marketing at MIPS Technologies.  “By partnering with Esmertec to deliver the industry’s leading Java performance, MIPS Technologies is continuing to help customers meet critical market requirements while adding to the growing software base that comprises the MIPS ecosystem.”

Availability
The Jbed CDC with FastDAC optimized to the MIPS32 and MIPS64 architectures is available now for licensing from Esmertec.  For more information, please contact info@esmertec.com.  Interested companies can also contact MIPS Technologies at +1 650 567 5000 or at sales@mips.com.
 

About Esmertec
Esmertec is a leading provider of software solutions and technologies for mobile phones, PDAs and embedded devices in telecommunication, home multimedia, machine-to-machine, consumer electronics and industrial automation markets. Esmertec’s wireless Java (J2ME™) products and object-oriented platforms deliver high-performance computing on devices with minimal memory to chipset and embedded device manufacturers, service operators and application developers. Founded in 1999, Esmertec is a global company headquartered in Zurich, with engineering, sales and customer support operations in Switzerland, France, the UK, the USA, Singapore, China, Korea, Taiwan and Japan.

About MIPS Technologies
MIPS Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of industry-standard processor architectures and cores for digital consumer and business applications. The company drives the broadest architectural alliance that is delivering 32- and 64-bit embedded RISC solutions. The company licenses its intellectual property to semiconductor companies, ASIC developers and system OEMs. MIPS Technologies and its licensees offer the widest range of robust, scalable processors in standard, custom, semi-custom and application-specific products. The company is based in Mountain View, Calif., and can be reached at +1 (650) 567-5000 or http://www.mips.com/.

 
MIPS, MIPS32, MIPS64 and 24Kc are trademarks or registered trademarks of MIPS Technologies, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Esmertec and Jbed are trademarks or registered trademarks of Esmertec AG.  CaffeineMark is a trademark of Pendragon Software. Java is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. and refers to Sun’s Java programming language.  All other trademarks referred to herein are the property of their respective owners.