IBM and National Semiconductor Team on Home Gateways

China's Largest White Goods Manufacturer Uses Joint Solution to Develop Applications for Web-enabled Homes

Santa Clara, CA -- 6/19/2001 -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) and National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM) today announced new technology for home gateways, which enable pervasive Internet access throughout the home and remote management of common household appliances such as lights, security systems, utility meters, air conditioners and entertainment systems.

The home gateway market, fueled by demand for broadband Internet access throughout the home, is predicted to rise from $267 million in 2000 to $7.1 billion in 2006 worldwide, according to Allied Business Intelligence (ABI). As home gateway manufacturers acknowledge that no one set of features will address all consumer preferences, they need to differentiate their products to quickly adapt to various homeowners.

Recognizing that a wide variety of home gateways will exist in the marketplace, IBM and National Semiconductor are creating a complete development platform for home gateways. The joint Technology combines National Semiconductor's Internet appliance development platform, featuring the National? Geode? GX1 processor, and IBM's WebSphere embedded software, offering a flexible and modular hardware and software solution that can target multiple product offerings in a single development environment. The joint platform, which will be generally available in August, will help companies reduce gateway and application development time while adhering to open standards based on reliable and proven solutions from leading technology providers.

China's largest white goods manufacturer, Shanghai General Electronics Group (SGEG), and C.P. Technology, a Taiwan-based company specializing in home technology, have committed to using IBM and National's joint platform. SGEG will use the platform to develop applications that can remotely monitor and control Web-enabled appliances. C.P. Technology said it is using the platform to power its new residential service gateway, the Power IA Smarthome UB2100.

"The Internet is being extended to everyday household appliances that we don't normally associate with computing," said Michel Mayer, IBM general manager of pervasive computing. "The technology to enable this is available today, but requires companies to come together to build an end-to-end solution. Our relationship with National Semiconductor is one of the first steps in making this happen."

"The residential gateway forms the heart of the home network," said Michael Polacek, vice president of the Information Appliance Division at National Semiconductor. "It manages the communication to the Internet and within the home network. It is the enabling technology that makes the home of the future possible. Today's announcement will enable the industry to create flexible yet cost effective residential gateway solutions."

"The true potential of the Internet and broadband in particular has yet to be realized," said Navin Sabharwal, VP of Residential & Networking Technologies at Allied Business Intelligence (ABI). "The residential gateway platform from National and IBM heralds the future of next-generation broadband equipment, allowing for delivery of multiple services into the home."

About IBM and National Semiconductor Products
IBM's WebSphere Everyplace Embedded software extends Web-based applications to a wide range of devices, including handhelds, games, set-top boxes, cars, home appliances, wireless WebPAD™ devices, and Internet appliances.

Specifically, it is cross-platform, embedded middleware for devices that includes device/content management, connection management, communication, user interfaces, encryption, authentication and message queuing; it is integrated with standards-compliant real-time operating systems, such as QNX Software Systems' Neutrino. Customization services are offered to tailor the embedded platform to the requirements of particular devices. In addition, IBM offers server software (WebSphere Everyplace Server 2.1) needed to streamline delivery of Web-based information and applications to devices.

IBM's WebSphere Everyplace embedded software is based on the Java programming language and uses open standards to create a highly flexible offering. It incorporates the necessary communication, application and user interfaces required for device operation.

National Semiconductor's Geode SP4GX10 information appliance development platform, featuring the high performance, low power of the GX1 processor, offers the optimal balance between cost, performance and power consumption for residential gateway products, enabling manufacturers to build affordable, full-function devices.

The GX1 processor is a 32-bit Pentium-class x86 processor with MMX™ support that integrates fully accelerated 2D graphics, a memory controller with 64-bit SDRAM interface, 16KB L1 Cache and PCI bus host controller. Along with the processor, other board-level components include National's Geode CS5530A I/O companion device, the MacPHYTER™ 83815 fast Ethernet controller, and various other analog products.

The SP4GX10 platform has two PCI slots, two ISA slots, and connectors for serial ports, USB, Ethernet and audio/graphics I/O.

About IBM
IBM is the world's leading e-business company offering a wide range of services, solutions and technologies that help businesses take full advantage of emerging innovation. IBM's pervasive computing and mobile Internet strategy is to extend e-business applications to the new class of connected client devices. This involves building, deploying and developing mobile applications by partnering with key players like Intel, Motorola, Cisco, Nokia and Palm; developing groundbreaking initiatives to set open industry standards; and deploying a Business Innovation Services team with hundreds of wireless Consultants. IBM also makes chips for a wide range of devices from the world's most powerful computers to the smallest cell phones. IBM can be found on the Web at www.ibm.com.

About National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor is the premier analog company driving the information age. Combining real-world analog and state-of-the-art digital technology, the company is focused on the fast growing markets for wireless handsets; information appliances; information infrastructure; and display, imaging and human interface technologies. With headquarters in Santa Clara, California, National reported sales of $2.1 billion for its last fiscal year and has about 10,000 employees worldwide.