1394 Trade Association Sees Robust Product, Design Activity for 1394 Standard; Continued Expansion of New Products Equipped with IEEE 1394/FireWire/i.LINK.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

CeBIT 2002

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 25, 2002

1394 TA Executive Director Predicts Growth in 1394-Equipped CE, PC and

Peripherals; Cites New Releases at Annual CeBit, in China and Taiwan

The director of the 1394 Trade Association predicted today that most new notebook computers will incorporate the IEEE 1394 standard by the end of this year.

"The number and quality of new consumer and computer peripheral products designed with 1394/FireWire/i.LINK made a major step forward at the end of 2001," said James Snider, the 1394 Trade Association's executive director. "It continued during the first quarter of 2002. The list is lengthy and impressive."

Snider added that design activity is picking up in Europe now, and continues to be strong in China and south Asia, where he will lead a delegation in April. "The number of new consumer and computer peripheral products designed with 1394/FireWire/i.LINK made a major step forward at the end of 2001 and during the first quarter of 2002," he said. "The list of new products is lengthy and impressive."

Snider cited the arrival of the new `b' version of the standard, which provides a minimum of 800 Megabit/second bandwidth and extended connectivity for FireWire and i.LINK products. Category 5 wire and plastic optical fiber (POF) can be used to achieve distance of 100 meters and more between 1394-equipped devices. The advent of the new, high bandwidth version, which is designed for extension to 3.2 Gigabits/second, will accelerate 1394-equipped designs beginning late in the second calendar quarter, and position IEEE 1394 as the standard of choice for home networking and for the automobile network.

New 1394/FireWire/i.LINK Products and Technology

Recent new products include, but are not limited to, the following:

-- Mitsubishi's new integrated HDTVs, with built-in high definition receivers,
a wide selection of inputs, and IEEE 1394 network connection technology, along
with the HAVi specification, using Mitsubishi's new NetCommand(TM) technology;

-- two new DVD+RW hard drives, and the H-P 1190 Pavilion notebook computer from
Hewlett-Packard;

-- a second generation set of DVD/CD `combi' drives, along with another new
VAIO noteback from Sony;

-- the new 1394-equipped External Storage Drive from Maxtor, designed for
digital video and photos, MP3 music and scanner images;

-- new notebooks from Samsung and Beijing-based Legend (Soleil S200);

-- Sun Microsystems' new Sun Blade 2000(TM)workstation;

-- Silicon Integrated Systems' new 1394-equipped chipset, the SIS745, with an
integrated 1394 Open Host Controller Interface (OHCI) and an open architecture;


-- La Cie's new DVD Studio Pro rewriteable drive;

-- EZQuest's Boa FireWire CD-RW drive, compatible with both PC and Mac
computing platforms;

-- a new version of Apple Computer's iPOD featuring 10 Gigabytes hard drive;

-- a battery-free version of a notebook computer from Taiwan's EliteGroup
Systems that incorporates a FireWire port in its "Desknote" system;

-- the industry's first Pentium IV notebook, the MiNote 8170, with a 1394 port,
introduced by Mitac in January.

Rapid Rise in Activity in Europe, China

At CeBit in Hannover early in March, other industry leaders introduced new notebooks and peripherals complete with the 1394 interface, according to Snider and Dr. Jalil Oraee, founder and chief technology officer of Oxford Semiconductor in the United Kingdom.

"It is clear from the announcements at CeBit that the 1394 standard is becoming popular and common among new, compact PCs," said Dr. Oraee. "Interest in 1394-FireWire is also very high now for advanced audio systems and other consumer components."

Snider and Oraee will be joined in China April 8-12 by Max Bassler of Molex, the 1394 TA vice chair, and Sam Liu of Newnex Technology, a board member. They will introduce the new 1394b specification to leading computer and peripherals manufacturers there, and encourage continued adoption using both the original 1394/FireWire standard and the new `b' version.

About the 1394 Trade Association

The 1394 Trade Association is a worldwide organization dedicated to the advancement and proliferation of the IEEE 1394 multimedia standard, which is marketed under the names FireWire(TM) and i.LINK(TM). For more information please visit www.1394ta.org or call the Trade Association headquarters at 817-410-5750. For a complete list of new 1394/FireWire/i.LINK products: Dick Davies, 415-777-4161, [e-mail]

Note to Editors: FireWire is a trademark of Apple Computer i.LINK is a trademark of Sony Corp.