National Semiconductor Thin Client Solutions Based On Geode Technology Demonstrated At CeBIT

IBM's new Windows-Based Terminal showcases enabling National Geode technology

Santa Clara, CA -- 2/24/2000 -- National Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE:NSM), the world's leading technology enabler for the thin client market, today announced it would demonstrate an array of thin client solutions at CeBIT. IBM Corporation (NYSE:IBM) joins National this week at CeBIT to demonstrate the recently announced IBM Network Station Windows-based Terminal, enabled by National® Geode™ processor technology. IBM's Windows-based Terminal can access applications on Windows 2000 or Windows NT 4.0. The solution incorporated into the latest IBM thin client offering includes the low-power National Geode GXLV-233 processor, companion I/O, audio codec, voltage controller, and several other peripheral and analog chips offered by National.

At the heart of the solution offered to its customers is the National Geode GXLV chip. The processor, which integrates on-chip graphics, audio, memory control and PCI interface, delivers powerful, easy-to-use multimedia technology that is ideal for the thin client environment. The National Geode processor family has become the processors of choice for Windows-based terminals, point-of-sale and Net PC applications - a market that is growing rapidly within many large corporations.

According to IDC, thin client shipments to Western Europe will reach approximately 2,000,000 units in 2003 to capture 96% of total western European terminal shipments. The largest percentage of thin client shipments will be web-based terminals. Thin clients will become the terminal of choice in corporations.

"Our role, as the semiconductor industry's leading enabler of thin client technology, allows us to work closely with our customers to help them provide the most innovative solutions to their customers," said Ziv Azmanov, business unit manager at National Semiconductor. "By providing the latest thin client technology, we're opening the door to faster, lower power, more reliable machines at the attractive price points that are so critical in this rapidly growing market."

A thin client is a desktop device optimized to access information and data from a central server. This next generation of computing allows organizations to reduce cost, deploy applications more quickly, and scale technology to meet growing information needs.

The highly integrated thin client solutions offered by National are providing faster time-to-market for key customers, offering feature sets tailored to each customer's individual needs. A wide variety of industry leading thin client solutions can be seen at CeBIT within the National Semiconductor booth (Hall 13, C52). In addition to the IBM Network Station Windows-based Terminal, National will also demonstrate thin client solutions from key customers from Europe, Asia, and the United States.

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 billion for its last fiscal year and has about 10,500 employees worldwide.