NEXTEST RANKED NUMBER ONE ATE SUPPLIER IN CUSTOMER SURVEY.

Nextest Systems Corporation (NASDAQ:NEXT), San Jose, Calif., a manufacturer of automatic test equipment (ATE) for cost- sensitive semiconductors, has announced that customers have rated the company #1 in the 2006 VLSI Research 10 BEST Suppliers of Test Equipment. Nextest received the highest scores in six of the thirteen rating categories covered by the survey.

"Nextest's rise to the top ranking ATE position is attributed to their management's long-standing commitment to develop cost-effective, high-throughput test solutions while providing exceptional customer support," said VLSI Research CEO G. Dan Hutcheson. "Nextest has a very seasoned engineering and management team that started the company with a clear vision. It's not surprising that Nextest fared well in our survey."

Robin Adler, president and chief executive officer of Nextest Systems Corporation commented, "We are truly honored and proud to receive such high rankings from our customers in this distinguished survey. This ranking is a direct result of our collaborative efforts enabling Nextest to deliver cost-effective solutions, which are aligned with our customers' needs." Adler continued, "It exemplifies our company-wide commitment to a standard of 'customer delight' while utilizing our products and interfacing with our company."

VLSI Research Inc of Santa Clara, California, distributes some 44,000 surveys to chip makers worldwide in six languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, German and French. The survey is designed to determine how chip manufacturers value their suppliers in terms of product reliability, customer support, as well as technical leadership. The survey, which represents over 4,500 equipment models and 95% of the world's chip production, asks companies to rate their suppliers in thirteen categories of customer satisfaction. VLSI Research has been conducting this survey for 18 years and it is highly regarded as the "benchmark" for overall customer satisfaction in the global semiconductor industry.

About VLSI Research Inc.

VLSI Research Inc is the leading provider of market research and economic analysis on the technical, business, and economic aspects of the high technology chip making industry. The company is known for its unparalleled accuracy, innovation in market research, and its sharply focused insight into the rapidly changing landscape of the chip making business. VLSI Research's databases on chip making are used throughout the industry, the investment community, and by governments for decisive strategic planning. VLSI Research was founded in 1976 and incorporated in California in 1981.

The company's website is https://www.vlsiresearch.com.

About Nextest

Nextest Systems Corporation is a low-cost leader in the design and manufacture of automatic test equipment (ATE) for Flash memory and System-On-Chip semiconductors. Nextest's products address the growing demand from manufacturers for ATE with increased throughput, functionality and reliability, while reducing time to market and cost of test. Nextest has shipped over 1,500 systems worldwide.