News & Events
Intersil Unveils the World’s First Complete Wireless LAN Driver Suite for Microsoft® Windows® CE Devices
— Complete driver suite for wireless LAN designers targeting handheld Internet appliances for home and enterprise markets
IRVINE, CA, September 8, 2000 —Intersil (NASDAQ: ISIL), the world’s leading developer of silicon technology for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), today unveiled a new suite of software drivers supporting PRISM-based WLAN products for Windows CE-based sub-notebooks and handheld PCs, including Microsoft’s PocketPC® The new driver suite is the world’s first complete set of PRISM-based software drivers that enable Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to design IEEE802.11-compliant wireless LAN products using Microsoft’s Windows CE for home and enterprise markets.
Intersil’s Windows CE Driver Suite provides the direct link between firmware on a PRISM II- or PRISM 2.5-based wireless LAN card and Windows CE (Versions 2.0, 2.1 and 3.0). The driver suite also includes drivers to support several microprocessor-based platforms, including SH3, SH4, MIPS, plus Intel’s StrongARM and x86 family of microprocessors. The drivers are fully compliant with the IEEE802.11 standard’s feature set, including automatic rate shifting from 11 megabits per second (Mbps) to 5.5Mbps, 2Mbps and 1Mbps.
"Small handheld Internet appliances will proliferate and Windows CE is an ideal operating system for these devices, so our driver suite is critical for the quick deployment of CE-based wireless LAN solutions, " said Larry Ciaccia, vice president and general manager of PRISM Wireless Products at Intersil. "This is further evidence of our commitment to wrap complete solutions around our advanced PRISM technology, allowing our customers lightning fast time-to-market. "
The suite consists of two software offerings. The first is binary executable code (driver files) that enables end-users to easily install WLAN cards. The second is the source code, written in Microsoft CE language, for OEM developers. Both include complete documentation for implementing the software. Intersil also plans to release a Windows CE customization software package in the fourth quarter of this year to give OEMs a tool set for customizing the install utilities to their company’s standard look and feel.
Adoption of PRISM WLAN Technology
Since introducing the PRISM WLAN chip set in 1996, over fifty companies have incorporated PRISM chips in more than 100 product designs. In a May 2000 report, the Cahners In-Stat Group called Intersil "the dominant force in the WLAN chip set marketplace with their PRISM chipsets holding the majority of market share. " PRISM technology is designed to comply with the IEEE’s 802.11b global standard, and Intersil is a founding sponsor of the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA), whose Wi-Fi™ brand is a mark of compatibility for 802.11b-based systems. PRISM chips are used in WLAN systems from industry-leading companies including Alcatel, Cisco, Nokia, Siemens, Compaq, 3Com, Dell, Nortel, Samsung, SpectraLink, Symbol Technologies and Zoom.
About Intersil
Irvine, California-based Intersil uses its semiconductor expertise to enable highly integrated voice, data and video communications. Intersil's integrated communications portfolio includes PRISM® Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) chip sets that enable mobile connectivity products for the home and office; analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits for broadband access to wireless and wired Wide Area Networks (WANs); and power management products that enable 24x7 reliability in network servers, next generation PCs and information appliances. For more information about Intersil, visit the company's Internet homepage at www.intersil.com.
This press release contains information relating to certain projections and business trends concerning the WLAN and small handheld Internet appliance markets that are forward looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward looking statements are based upon management’s current expectations, estimates, beliefs, assumptions, and projections about our business and industry. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends, " "plans, " "believes, " "seeks, " "estimates," "may," "will" and variations of these words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward looking statements. Furthermore, any forward looking statements and projections made by others in this press release are not adopted by Intersil and Intersil is not responsible for the forward looking statements and projections of others. These forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward looking statements as a result of various risk factors. Important risk factors that may cause such material differences for Intersil in connection with WLAN and small handheld Internet appliance markets include, but are not limited to, the rate at which consumers adopt small handheld Internet appliances, the rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt Intersil’s wireless technologies and products; the timing, rescheduling or cancellation of significant customer orders; the loss of a key customer; the qualification, availability and pricing of competing products and technologies and the resulting effects on sales and pricing of our products; silicon wafer pricing and the availability of foundry and assembly capacity and raw materials; intellectual property disputes; as well as other risk factors detailed from time to time in Intersil’s filings with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. These forward looking statements are made only as of the date of this press release and Intersil undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward looking statements.
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PRISM is a registered trademark of Intersil Corporation.
Microsoft, PocketPC and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation
