Winbond Launches New Series of SMART@IO Controller ICs Featuring Reader and Interface Support for Three Major Memory Card Standards and SMART Card

San Jose, CA, Sept. 17, 2001 - Winbond Electronics Corporation, a leading supplier of semiconductor solutions, today announced that it has launched a new series of SMART@IO™ chip solutions. The W83L518D and the W83L519D are the first on the market to offer reader and interface support for three major memory card standards and the Smart Card, giving OEMs more flexible choices when designing PCs. The chips, which are part of Winbond's SMART@IO chip family, provide integrated reader function and interface for Smart Card™, Memory Stick™, Secure Digital™ (SD™) Memory and Multi-Media Memory Card™ (MMC). The chips are currently available in production volume and are priced at $2.20 U.S. in 1,000 unit quantities.

In order to address a growing number of applications, Winbond has provided two IC solutions; the W83L518D (with LPC interface) and the W83L519D (with ISA interface). The W83L518D offers one channel for PC/SC interface and two memory card interfaces; one for Memory Stick and one for SD Memory. The W83L519D supports PC/SC interface, and provides one interface for either a Memory Stick or SD Memory Card. In addition, Winbond provides all software drivers for Microsoft Windows 98/ME/2000/XP. Both chips operate at 3.3V, except for the Smart Card Interface port, which operates at 5V. The small package (48 pins) makes the W83L518D/ 519D ideal for applications where real estate is at a premium, such as laptop computers and embedded applications.

The cost of deploying memory card technology remains high, no matter the interface. The high cost is due primarily to the memory card reader. With the solution that Winbond offers, the cost of owning a Smart/memory card reader has been dramatically reduced. The W83L518D/519D integrates both reader controller and interface logic functions into single IC solution and are designed to reside on the system board. This single chip approach eliminates the need for separate controller and interface ICs. Typically, in addition to the W83L518D/519D, only a mechanical card reader module is needed to implement a complete Smart Card/ Memory Card reader. This eliminates the need for costly card reader security solutions. The chips have already been integrated by several customers; enabling OEMs to provide customers with a lower-cost alternative.

As memory card technology gains wide spread acceptance in the marketplace, the number of applications and the number of digital data formats have increased. This translates into a significant increase in the transfer of digital data -- and more massive amounts of data -- between different types of devices. Winbond's new SMART@IO chips address this trend with a cost-effective, single-chip solution that is compatible with all major digital formats.

About Winbond
Winbond Electronics Corporation was founded in 1987 and is based in Hsinchu Science-Based Park, Taiwan. It has since become the largest branded IC Company in Taiwan, offering a broad range of PC and peripheral-related ICs, consumer electronics ICs, multimedia ICs, and memory ICs. Winbond is a market leader in the telephone dialer, PC I/O controller, memory, speech synthesizer and MPEG decoder markets. With four wafer fabs currently in operation, the Company utilizes process technologies ranging from 1.0µm down to 0.175µm. Winbond has more than 4,500 employees worldwide with design centers located in Hsinchu, Taiwan; Shanghai, China; San Jose, California; Austin, Texas; and Herzilya, Israel. World Wide Web WECA home page: http://www.winbond-usa.com/; World Wide Web corporate home page: http://www.winbond.com/.

Note:   Winbond and Smart@IO are registered trademarks of Winbond Electronics Corporation. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of the respective owners.