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NEC Electronics Announces New Sound Synthesizer LSI Solution for Cell Phones
Single-Chip Device Capable of Generating Up to 64 Tones Simultaneously;
Supports Surround Sound
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| "µPD9990" |
KAWASAKI, Japan, SANTA CLARA, Calif. and DUESSELDORF, Germany, September 15, 2003 -
NEC Electronics Corporation and its subsidiaries in the United States and Europe, NEC Electronics America, Inc. and NEC Electronics (Europe) GmbH, today announced the availability of samples for a new single-chip LSI synthesizer (part number µPD9990) that implements surround sound technology and allows simultaneous generation of up to 64 tones. The new product enables cell phones to play rich voice and instrument sound waves using realistic stereo surround sound effects.
"In recent years, there has been an increased demand for cellular phones that produce effects beyond simple voice and text communication," said Yoshiyuki Idogawa, general manager of 1st Solutions Division, NEC Electronics Corporation. "Phones today offer advanced features such as downloadable ringing melodies, music playback and mobile gaming. These applications call for strong sound support, in some cases to play back more than 40 tones simultaneously. This is what our synthesizer product delivers."
The µPD9990 employs a double wavetable system that provides high-quality sound by selecting one of two wavetables based on the pitch of the tone played. Four independent musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) input ports with one control port allow the replay of up to four audio streams simultaneously. These features give cell phones equipped with the LSI synthesizer the ability to play background music, sound effects or human voices.
By writing the surround coefficients using DiMAGIC Virtualizer XTM (DVX) technology from DiMAGIC Corp., the µPD9990 synthesizer delivers surround sound reproduction to cellular phones via two closely spaced loudspeakers. This makes the music and sound effects played by a µPD9990-equipped cell phone more realistic. Available with internal coefficient RAM to support surround sound in stereo loudspeakers and headphones, the µPD9990 enables cell phone users to enjoy surround sound with or without a headset.
The µPD9990 uses NEC Electronics' latest 0.15µm mixed-signal manufacturing process, resulting in power consumption of only 50 milliamps (mA) and making it truly a low-power sound solution for power-sensitive cell phones.
The NEC Electronics LSI synthesizer was co-developed with FueTrek Corporation and the surround sound feature is available through a business alliance with DiMAGIC Corp., a leading provider of surround sound technologies for cellular telephone applications.
Pricing and Availability
Engineering samples of the µPD9990 are available now. NEC Electronics also provides application program interface (API) source code for the µPD9990, including a multi-format parser that parses sound formats such as standard MIDI file (SMF), scalable polyphony MIDI (SPM), and MFMP to minimize software development efforts. The device is packaged in a 65-pin plastic fine-pitch BGA and priced at $3.75 in quantities over 100,000 pieces. NEC Electronics plans to produce 2,000,000 pieces per month in 2004. Pricing and availability are subject to change.
About NEC Electronics
NEC Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) specializes in semiconductor products encompassing advanced technology solutions for the high-end computing and broadband networking markets, system solutions for the mobile handsets, PC peripherals, automotive and digital consumer markets, and platform solutions for a wide range of customer applications. NEC Electronics Corporation has 24 subsidiaries worldwide including NEC Electronics America, Inc. (www.am.necel.com) and NEC Electronics (Europe) GmbH (www.ee.nec.de). In addition to marketing, selling and supporting NEC Electronics products to customers in their respective regions,
NEC Electronics America and NEC Electronics Europe also operate local manufacturing facilities in Roseville, California, and Ballivor, Ireland, respectively. Additionally, NEC Electronics America for North America and NEC Electronics Europe for Europe are the sales and marketing channels of NEC AM-LCD and PDP modules. For additional information about NEC Electronics worldwide, visit www.necel.com.
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NEC Electronics either a registered trademark or trademark of NEC Electronics Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other registered trademarks or trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Information in the press releases, including product prices and
specifications is current on the date of the press announcement,
but is subject to change without prior notice.
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