Altium Announces Next-generation Protel Product Scheduled for Release in Q1 2002; Most Significant Upgrade to the Protel Product Line Since the Move to Windows.

Business/Technology Editors

SYDNEY, Australia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 5, 2001

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU), a leading developer of Windows-based electronic design and development software, is pleased to announce that the release of the next generation of its Protel board-level design system is scheduled for Q1 2002.

With a working codename of "Phoenix", the release will be the culmination of two years of extensive research and development work by Altium, and constitutes a major upgrade to the current Protel product. It will feature a host of generational improvements including a new Topological Autorouting(TM) system that promises superior performance to current shape-based routing technologies. Other enhancements include new and improved design file storage methods that maintain the integrity of the design structure regardless of how or where documents are stored, fully integrated components and libraries, and numerous productivity enhancements based on extensive customer feedback. This new generation of Protel will offer engineers and designers significantly greater productivity with higher levels of design integration, automation, and accessibility to new technologies.

Maintaining design flows

"Phoenix" will extend the design integration framework pioneered by Altium's successful Protel 98 and Protel 99 SE products. As time-to-market pressures increase, a continual frustration of engineers and designers worldwide is the inability to easily move back and forward through the design process. Altium's unique Design Explorer integration platform has been extensively redeveloped to separate design-file storage issues from the design itself, allowing effortless propagation and maintenance of design-level changes across all design files. This new release will also introduce integrated component libraries to Protel, streamlining the management of symbols, models, and footprints.

"`Phoenix' flows with the natural design process, rather than forcing designers to work around the constraints of their design tools," says Phil Loughhead, Protel Product Manager. "`Phoenix' focuses on maintaining the design as a whole and gives engineers complete freedom to adapt the product to their work flows."

According to Loughhead, "Phoenix" extensively builds on the strengths of the current Protel 99 SE product. "`Phoenix' promises to be the most significant upgrade to the Protel product line since the move to the Windows platform. We've spent a lot of time listening to feedback from our customers and have been working hard to understand and service their needs. `Phoenix' brings some significant new technologies to the design desktop, as well as a host of long-awaited productivity enhancements".

"Phoenix" feature highlights

Key highlights of the upcoming release will include:

-- New Topological Autorouting(TM) technology that brings full support for the latest component packaging technologies, enhanced design rule compliance, and support for state-of-the-art board design technologies such as blind and buried vias

-- The introduction of a new Design Manager that allows engineers to set up and manage design-level parameters and includes powerful new design analysis and verification features, as well as full bidirectional schematic-PCB synchronization 

-- Integrated components, component libraries, and a component management system that allow designers to completely define a component in terms of its schematic symbols, PCB footprints, SPICE and signal integrity models, etc.

-- Support for full version control with interfaces to popular third-party version control tools such as Visual Source Safe

-- Increased versatility in design-file storage with three storage options, including the ability to effortlessly work with free documents

-- Enhanced signal integrity analysis

-- An extensive list of usability and productivity enhancements based on extensive customer feedback

In the period leading up to the full commercial release of the new version, Altium will provide more information on the features and technologies to be included in "Phoenix" via the Protel website at www.protel.com.

Designing for the future

"Phoenix" will be the first of a number of significant product releases from Altium scheduled for 2002. With this next generation of the highly successful Protel product line, Altium continues to break down barriers to innovation and technological advancement by providing every engineer, designer and developer with easy access to the best possible design tools.

Availability

"Phoenix" is expected to be ready for manufacture in Q1 2002. Pricing is expected to be in line with the current Protel 99 SE pricing model.

Existing Protel customers who are members of Altium's recently announced Altium Total Support (ATS) program will be shipped the new version free of charge as part of their ATS membership.

As previously announced, Altium is currently offering a 20% discount on Protel full suite new licenses and upgrades purchased during the month of December 2001. This represents a saving of up to US$1,600 on a new license and up to US$800 on an upgrade. In addition, all new Protel 99 SE full suite licenses come with 12 months free membership to Altium Total Support (valued at US$1,995) which guarantees free access to the new version when it is released.

For more product information visit www.protel.com, or contact the local Altium Sales and Support Center.

About Altium Limited

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU), trading as Protel International Limited (ASX: PRI) prior to August 6, 2001, is a leading global developer and supplier of desktop electronic design automation (EDA) and embedded software design tools for the Microsoft Windows environment.

Since the Company's foundation in 1985 and its release of the world's first Microsoft Windows-based EDA tool in 1991, Altium has continued to apply the most advanced software design methods to provide powerful, easy-to-use and affordable design software to engineers and electronics designers worldwide.

Altium's current product brands include Protel, P-CAD, TASKING, Accolade, CircuitMaker and CAMtastic!. These products offer tailored solutions covering a range of hardware and software design processes.

Altium is headquartered in Sydney, Australia, and operates a number of sales and support offices in Australia, the United States, Japan and Europe - as well as maintaining a large reseller network in all other major markets. More information about the Company and its products and services may be obtained from our new website at www.altium.com.

Altium, Altium Total Support, Protel, P-CAD, TASKING, Accolade, CircuitMaker, CAMtastic! and Topological Autorouting and their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Altium Limited. All other registered or unregistered trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners and no trademark rights to the same is claimed.