1998-07-06 , ESC-9866
Business News From Philips Semiconductors

At the fifth international Excellent Design-in Awards for the semiconductor industry presented at 2 July, this year's Minister of International Trade and Industry Prize for the most successful semiconductor design-in project was jointly awarded to Sharp and Philips Semiconductors.

Sharp was awarded the prize for the Mobilon™ hand-held PC, a Windows™ CE 2.0 hand-held PC, and Philips Semiconductors for the  UCB1200, an analog, telecommunications and audio IC in the company's Windows™ CE 2.0 TwoChipHCG chipset used in the Mobilon™. By working together closely on both hardware and software development right from the initial product design stage, Sharp and Philips Semiconductors were able to produce the market release version of the Mobilon™ within a short time-frame.

The two major selection criteria for the award were the contribution of the design to the electronics industry and the level of international co-operation. The Awards system is based on the importance of design-in activities, with the aim of promoting healthy development of business relations in the semiconductor market in Japan. The winners were chosen by a panel of distinguished representatives chaired by Mr Takuo Sugano, Chancellor of Toyo University.

Sharp is the world leader in hand-held PCs. The compact, low-power consumption, high-performance Mobilon™ runs Windows™ CE OS V2.0 and features a 640 x 240 dot colour display, full keyboard, and built-in 33.6 kbps software modem, serial transmission at 115 kbps, IrDA transmission, voice recording and playback, and twin Type II PC card slots. The Mobilon™ is the only hand-held PC which can handle still digital pictures using digital camera cards.

Philips Semiconductors' TwoChipHCG chipset supports the features of the Mobilon™. It optimises the 33.6 kbps software modem's performance, enabling extended transmission time when used in battery operation mode.

The award winning UCB1200 is an analog IC chip incorporating telecom and audio digital technologies that Philips Semiconductors specialises in. The TwoChipHCG combines high speed operation with low power consumption decidated for Windows™ CE 2.0. The TwoChipHCG combination provides the I/O connections required for hand-held PCs, for example LCD display panel, touch-sensitive screen, keyboard, and telephone lines, as well as serial I/O interfaces. This means that only a few peripheral components are required to assemble the hand-held PC, resulting in lighter and more compact products. A new chip with 56kbps modem function will be marketed by the end of this year.

Philips Semiconductors, a division of Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV, headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, is the ninth largest semiconductor supplier in the world. Philips Semiconductors' innovations in digital audio, video, and mobile technology position the company as a leader in the consumer, multimedia and wireless communications markets. Sales offices are located in all major markets around the world, and are supported by regional customer application labs.