| Press Release *****For immediate use January 7th, 2002 NEC's VR Series 64-Bit Processors Supported by New Windows CE .NET Operating System-Hardware/Software Combination Delivers Robust Solution for Mobile and Wired Embedded Systems-TOKYO, SANTA CLARA, Calif., January 7, 2002 - NEC Corporation and its wholly owned semiconductor affiliate in the United States, NEC Electronics Inc., today announced that its popular MIPS®-based VR SeriesTM microprocessors are the industry's first 64-bit processors to be supported by Microsoft's new Windows® CE .NET operating system (OS), introduced today. NEC microprocessor customers can combine the Windows CE .NET OS with NEC's high-performance embedded 64-bit processors to develop mobile and connected information appliances that combine computing, communications, multimedia and encryption for applications including automotive communications and infotainment, industrial control, home gateways, retail point-of-sale terminals, set-top boxes and Web appliances. With today's announcement, this new operating system has been ported to NEC's VR4122TM, VR4131TM, VR4181TM, VR4310TM, VR5432TM and VR5500TM microprocessors. Also today, NEC announced the availability of hardware and software reference platforms for this new operating system. "One of our primary design goals with Windows CE .NET was to optimize the OS to deliver the functionality needed for the multimedia-rich, data-intensive smart devices that customers demand," said Keith White, senior director of marketing for the Embedded and Appliance Platforms Group at Microsoft Corp. "The combination of NEC's broad line of microprocessors with Windows CE .NET delivers a compelling price/performance ratio to embedded systems designers." "With this software, Microsoft has developed a reliable new operating system for efficiently enabling the most demanding real-time embedded designs," said Katsuhiko Itagaki, director of the NEC Internet Platform Laboratory. "Our customers continue to develop systems that require rich media, such as streaming video and audio, and high-speed Internet connection with NEC's VR Series 64-bit processors. This new, full, 64-bit support in Windows CE .NET will enable our customers to leverage the OS for their digital consumer devices, portable data terminals, home gateways and servers, multimedia appliances and other embedded systems." The rich multimedia functionality and Internet-connectivity features of the Microsoft Windows CE .NET operating system, which includes the comprehensive Platform Builder toolkit for building Windows CE-based OS images, offers a compelling platform for creating high-performance consumer products. Microsoft has optimized its Windows CE .NET OS software to take advantage of NEC's 64-bit processor capabilities using integer and floating-point operations for intensive computational requirements. About NEC's VR Series Microprocessors NEC's VR Series 64-bit MIPS RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) microprocessors provide cost-effective comprehensive solutions for embedded system designers. Developed around the MIPS architecture, all of the VR Series microprocessors are backward code-compatible and highly scaleable. Within North America, NEC Electronics is committed to providing complete design environment support for its VR Series microprocessors by offering a wide range of companion chipsets, development platforms and a comprehensive set of development tools. NEC's family of high-performance processors for embedded applications such as digital televisions, advanced set-top boxes, Internet appliances and network applications includes the VR5432 processor and NEC's newest processor, the VR5500. With a dual-issue, 10-stage pipeline that includes out-of-order execution, the VR5500 processor delivers an impressive 804 Dhrystone 2.1 MIPS at 400 megahertz. The highly integrated, VR4100TM family offers the best combination of performance, low power consumption and integration with on-chip peripheral functions such as SDRAM and system interfaces. The ultra-power-efficient VR4131 processor, for example, provides one of the industry's highest performance-to-power ratios at 1545 MIPS per watt. About NEC Corporation NEC Corporation (NASDAQ: NIPNY) (FTSE: 6701q.l) is a leading provider of Internet solutions, dedicated to meeting the specialized needs of its customers in the key computer, network and electron device fields through its three market-focused in-house companies: NEC Solutions, NEC Networks and NEC Electron Devices. NEC Corporation, with its in-house companies, employs more than 150,000 people worldwide and saw net sales of 5,409 billion Yen (approx. US$43 billion) in fiscal year 2000-2001. For further information, visit the NEC home page at: http://www.nec.com. About NEC Electronics Inc. NEC Electronics Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is one of the leading developers, manufacturers and suppliers of semiconductor products in the United States. Committed to meeting customers' cost, performance and time-to-market requirements, the company offers solutions ranging from standard products to system-on-a-chip (SOC) solutions, as well as customized products for next-generation designs. NEC Electronics also offers customers the benefits of a local manufacturing facility in Roseville, California, and the global manufacturing capabilities of its parent company, NEC Corporation (NASDAQ: NIPNY). For more information about products offered by NEC Electronics Inc., visit the NEC Electronics Website at http://www.necel.com. *** NEC Electronics Inc., VR Series, VR4100, VR4122, VR4131, VR4181, VR4310, VR5432 and VR5500 are either registered trademarks or trademarks of NEC Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Windows and Windows CE are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. MIPS is a registered trademark of MIPS Technologies. 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