National Semiconductor Announces Global Strategic Relationship With Viewsonic's Internet Appliance Group

National® Geode™ WebPAD™ Reference Design to Power a Variety of Internet Devices from Leading Worldwide Provider of Advanced Visual Technology

Santa Clara, CA -- 8/30/2000 -- National Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE: NSM), the leading provider of silicon and total system solutions for information appliances, and ViewSonic Corporation, the No. 1 best selling independent Visual Technology™ provider in the United States, today announced a worldwide strategic relationship to deliver the industry-leading National Geode™ WebPAD™ technology to power several of ViewSonic's new family of Internet appliances.

The National Geode WebPAD platform is a flexible hardware and software reference design that can be used by manufacturers to build both wired and wireless personal Internet access devices. ViewSonic recently unveiled Internet appliances based on the National Geode WebPAD platform, ranging from stand alone i-boxes, integrated LCD and CRT devices, to web phones and wireless Internet access devices. The units are capable of operating on nearly any operating system, including Windows CE, Linux, QNX, Be, VxWorks.

ViewSonic clearly has the vision and strategy for the emerging information appliance market, and we are delighted to have ViewSonic as one of our strategic customers in developing products based on our Geode family of processors. Our Geode WebPAD platform allows leaders such as ViewSonic to deliver exciting Internet appliances with an enriched user experience, lower power consumption, faster time-to-market, and most importantly at a reduced overall system cost," said Mike Polacek, vice president of National's Information Appliance division. "This again demonstrates the pervasiveness of our Geode solution and analog expertise as the engine of the information appliance technology."

"We are excited about entering into this strategic relationship with National Semiconductor, a true leader in the development of wired and wireless Internet access device technology" said Peter Weedfald, executive vice president of Corporate Communications and Emerging Business for ViewSonic. "ViewSonic's Internet appliances are reliable, affordable, operate 24x7 and are basically maintenance free. Our relationship with National will provide businesses with a unique selling proposition, as we are offering them the tools to better recruit, maintain and enhance their business relationships with their customers."

National's Geode WebPAD Platform
National's Geode WebPAD platform is a complete hardware and software reference design for a personal Internet access device that is optimized for Internet browsing. The design kit allows manufacturers to reduce their overall development costs and shorten their time-to-market. The platform is powered by National's highly-integrated Geode GX1 microprocessor, a low-power x86-based chip that integrates sound, graphics, memory control and the PCI interface. In addition to the Geode GX1 processor, ViewSonic incorporates a wide variety of National silicon, including a companion chip and several industry-leading analog parts, such as an audio codec, microcontroller and several power management chips. Information appliances based on the x86 architecture provide users with support for most popular software plug-in modules for the Internet.

About ViewSonic
ViewSonic Corporation, a leader in Visual Technology™ products, offers comprehensive display solutions for today's business, Internet, education and entertainment markets. The company's products have won more than 630 awards globally from independent publications and organizations. ViewSonic's leadership position is further supported by its position as No. 1 best selling independent monitor in 1999 and Q1, 2000, according to Stanford Resources. The company is also the leading LCD brand in the United States in Q1, 2000 according to Display Search. Headquartered in Walnut, Calif., ViewSonic was founded in 1987 and is a privately held corporation with over $1 billion in worldwide annual sales. For further information, please contact ViewSonic Corporation at tel: 800.888.8583 or 909.869.7976; fax: 909.468.3736; www.viewsonic.com.

About National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor provides system-on-a-chip solutions for the information age. Combining real-world analog and state-of the-art digital technology, the company's chips lead many sectors of the personal computer, communications, and consumer markets. 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.