Winbond's Text-To-Speech Processor Makes Inroads Into New Markets

San Jose, CA, Feb. 25, 2003 - Winbond Electronics Corporation America, a leading supplier of semiconductor solutions to the consumer, computer, communications and electronics products markets, today announced that its WTS701 single chip, text-to-speech processor is being used in a number of new markets including automotive accessories, learning aids, telemetrics, robotics and products for the visually impaired. In just a little over one year after being launched, the WTS701 has been adopted by numerous customers seeking innovative solutions for voice-enabled applications. The Company is currently shipping production quantities to a number of customers.

Customers worldwide have selected the WTS701 to be designed into a wide range of applications including automotive, disabled, smart pagers, messaging, robotics, and financial and retail industry solutions. In addition, the WTS701 has also been chosen to be designed into handheld devices and telephony applications.

"We are pleased to see the WTS701 has received such rapid, early acceptance in the market," said Peter Himes, vice president of marketing, Winbond America. "Text-to-Speech technology has long held wide appeal for consumers. However, until Winbond launched the WTS701, TTS as a technology required extensive processor and software resources, limiting its use for everyday applications. Our processor, a single chip solution, makes true universal text-to-speech capability possible for small footprint and low resource applications."

Triton has chosen Winbond's WTS701 for inclusion into its 9100 series ATM machines. The WTS701 automatically translates menu items, transaction balances, and text messages to spoken word, allowing the ATM to 'talk' to the user. Using a pair of headphones for privacy, visually impaired users can listen to ATM voice prompts, balance information, transactions, etc. And, unlike preprogrammed voice prompt solutions, the WTS701 can translate all ASCII input it receives, giving a solution universal flexibility in voice-enabled capability, as well as the ability to change or update prompts on the fly without having to redesign the voice prompt solution.

"Winbond's TTS chip solution enables us to add text-to-speech functionality to our 9100 series ATMs," said, Brian Kett, executive vice president, Triton. "The solution provides high quality, realistic sounding speech, making it easier for the visually impaired to receive crucial banking information verbally."

The WTS701 is the industry's first single chip processor that converts Text-To-Speech (TTS). The WTS701 creates a more natural human sounding speech by converting text to speech using recorded human speech samples. This ensures that the output is a recognizable human voice, unlike computer-generated synthesis solutions.

The WTS701 uses a concatenation algorithm combined with Winbond's proprietary Multi-Level Storage (MLS) technology. It contains two memory arrays; one for the acoustic library and one for the processor program, enabling application-specific customization for special characters such as SMS icons or chat emoticons. The chip is capable of supporting any number of languages and initially, U.S. English and Mandarin are available. More information on the WTS701 can be found on the Winbond America web site at: http://www.winbond-usa.com/products/isd_products/chipcorder/.

About Winbond

Winbond Electronics Corporation America, based in San Jose, California, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Winbond Electronics Corporation, the largest branded IC Company in Taiwan and a leading supplier of semiconductor solutions worldwide. Winbond America designs, develops, markets and sells IC solutions to the global electronics marketplace. With a strong emphasis on mixed-signal solutions, Winbond America's primary mission is to serve the signal conditioning needs of computer, consumer and communications electronic manufacturers. Winbond Electronics Corporation has approximately 3,800 employees worldwide with design centers in Hsinchu, Taiwan; Shanghai, China; San Jose and Torrance, California; and Austin, Texas. The Company can be contacted via the web at http://winbond-usa.com for Winbond America, or through the corporate homepage at http://www.winbond.com

About Triton

As the leading provider of cash-dispensing ATMs for off-premise locations, Triton is committed to redefining and leading the retail market for cash delivery systems. Triton is the largest provider of off-premise ATMs and ATM management software in North America and has more than 83,000 installations in over 17 countries worldwide. Triton is headquartered in Long Beach, MS and is an operating company of Dover Industries, Inc., a subsidiary of Dover Corporation. For more information about Triton, please visit www.tritonatm.com or call 1-228-868-1317 (U.S. toll free 1-800-367-7191).

Note: Winbond is a registered trademark of Winbond Electronics Corporation. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.