Phoenix Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTEC), the global leader in system software products for connected digital devices, today announced its PhoenixBIOS™ 4.06 and AwardBIOS™ platformware will be available for desktop platforms incorporating the new AMD Athlon™ XP processor. The AMD Athlon XP processor with QuantiSpeed™ architecture is designed to effectively balance work-per-clock cycle and frequency scalability.

“Phoenix Technologies is pleased to have worked closely with AMD to deliver, concurrently with their first customer shipments, robust and stable platformware support for their new line of AMD Athlon XP processors,” said Alan L. McCann, Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Phoenix Technologies’ Platform Enabling Division. “The performance advances of the AMD Athlon XP processor combined with the comprehensive feature set of Phoenix platformware provide end-users of desktop PC’s with significantly increased manageability and usability. In addition, this solution enables the widest range of third-party peripheral products to be integrated. Our customers have come to rely on our on-going cooperation with AMD to continue enabling innovative new technology for the open architecture PC industry.”

“AMD is committed to offering our customers an excellent combination of value and performance. Our long-term relationship with Phoenix Technologies that enables the release of high-performance platformware solutions simultaneously with our new product releases, is part of that on-going commitment,” said Rex Meek, director of the Hardware Infrastructure Enablement Group at AMD. “With over 22 years experience, Phoenix has the expertise to provide a robust platformware feature set that complements our technology perfectly.”

As the leading worldwide supplier of platformware for desktop computers, Phoenix Technology brings over 22 years of engineering experience to this technology. In addition to the Phoenix reputation for reliability, the PhoenixBIOS 4.06™ and AwardBIOS™ products deliver significant unique advantages over other alternatives:

• Full PC manageability – through the support of both SMBIOS and Wired for Management (WfM)
• Proven support for next generation I/O buses such as USB and 1394; including leading edge boot capability, enhances the user’s digital experience
• Full support for Windows XP with industry leading ACPI performance
• ACPI Functionality – Phoenix Technologies is a pioneer in developing this technology and is the only BIOS member of the ACPI Consortium. This assures that the latest ACPI technology will always be available in the company’s platformware.

AMD introduced its brand-new processor for high-performance desktop computers, the AMD Athlon XP processor. The AMD Athlon XP processor features the new, patented QuantiSpeed™ architecture, which delivers a quantum leap in performance for office productivity, digital media, and 3D gaming. The new architecture also includes 3DNow!™ Professional technology, which adds 52 new instructions, extending 3DNow! technology capabilities to more software titles than any other processor in the world. The AMD Athlon “XP” modifier is designed to convey the extreme performance AMD Athlon XP processors deliver for the upcoming Microsoft® Windows® XP operating system.

AMD will identify the AMD Athlon XP processor using model numbers, as opposed to megahertz, and is introducing 1800+, 1700+, 1600+ and 1500+ versions. Model numbers are designed to communicate the relative application performance among the various AMD Athlon XP processors, as well as communicate the architectural superiority over existing AMD Athlon processors.

Phoenix is the global leader in “platformware”, system-enabling software products for PCs and connected digital devices in the Age of Digital Convergence. The company’s BIOS and BIOSplus™ platformware is used by more than 800 customers worldwide and is designed into millions of industry standard desktop, notebook and server PCs sold annually. Phoenix Technologies’ FirstWare™ family of products provides an innovative new way to reduce manufacturing and support costs for OEMs and Resellers while providing value for the end-user through “instant-on” applications. In the Information Appliance market segment, Phoenix Technologies’ FirstView™ family delivers an easy-to-implement, low cost/high value architecture that enables “instant-on” Internet access and browsing capability for devices such as Internet TV, interactive screen phones, and handheld appliances. In the area of device security, Phoenix Technologies’ FirstAuthority Trusted Device Infrastructure™ enables next generation ‘device authority’ security products and services designed from the ground up to deliver a higher level of trust to both devices and device-aware e-business applications. Our customers and partners have come to rely on Phoenix@theCore™ for their new product and digital initiatives based on our proven track record.

For more information about Phoenix Technologies, visit our website at http://www.phoenix.com/