National Unveils New Partners and Information Appliances at Comdex Chicago

CEO Brian L. Halla to Deliver Opening Day Keynote Address; National's Booth to Be One-Stop Showcase for Information Appliances

Santa Clara, CA -- 3/28/2001 -- National Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE: NSM), the leading technology provider for analog solutions and the information appliance (IA) market, will showcase new partners and cutting-edge information appliances - powered by National's award-winning Geode™ technology - at Comdex Chicago, April 3-5. In addition, three National executives will be featured speakers at key sessions for the national technology conference, which will be held in Chicago's McCormick Place.

Here is the schedule for National's activities at Comdex Chicago:

Tuesday, April 3rd:

Michael Polacek, vice president of National's information appliance division, will introduce National's newest strategic partner at an 11 a.m. press conference in the Comdex Chicago Media Center, Room N426, Level 4, North Hall of McCormick Place.
At noon, Polacek will be a featured panelist in a popular supersession hosted by Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies Inc. and a respected authority on the global information appliance market. Targeted at new wave web surfers, the supersession will focus on "High-Velocity Computing -- the Next Generation of Internet Appliances." The session will be held in Room S401 BC at McCormick Place.
At 3 p.m., Brian L. Halla, National's chairman, president, and CEO, will deliver the opening day keynote address in the Vista Ballroom. His talk, "The Bust That Went Boom: Information Appliances and the Next Semiconductor Supernova," will be followed by an informal press question and answer session in the Media Center.

Thursday, April 5th:

At 10:15 a.m., Gary Saunders, vice president of National's business development will be a featured panelist in "Information Appliances: Quantifying the Market and Business Models for High Growth," moderated by Egil Juliussen with eTForecasts. The panel will be held in room S403B at McCormick Place.

National's booth is the centerpiece of Comdex's Information Appliance Zone, located in the North Hall at booth 1426. The "zone" will showcase several of the latest products from National's partners and business allies in the information appliance market, including IBM's NetVista™ I30 Internet Appliance, Compaq's iPAQ™ IA-2 Home Internet Appliance, Honeywell's wireless WebPAD™ appliance and AOLTV. Other well-known companies, including LodgeNet and Wyse, also will display their newest products powered by National's Geode technology.

Complimentary passes to the exhibits may be obtained from National by calling (408) 721-2033. Complimentary VIP tickets for Halla's keynote are also available for members of the media.

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 10,500 employees worldwide.