BusinessWire
February 13, 2006 03:09 AM US Pacific Timezone

Atmel to Produce and Sell High-Density SIM Controllers Based on M-Systems' MegaSIM(R) Platform; Atmel Expects to Deliver MegaSIM-empowered, High-Density SIM Controllers To SIM Card Vendors in Coming Months

3GSM World Congress 2006

BARCELONA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 13, 2006--Atmel(R) Corporation (Nasdaq:ATML), a global leader in the development and fabrication of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced it will produce and sell high-density SIM controllers, powered by M-Systems' (Nasdaq:FLSH) MegaSIM(R) platform, to SIM card vendors.

"The high-density SIM card market is happening now and we are proud to be one of the first suppliers of these controllers for the SIM card industry, leading the industry trend towards full-featured SIM cards with high-density storage," said Alfredo Vadillo, Atmel's Director of Customer- and Application-Specific Products. "By offering SIM controllers based on M-Systems' MegaSIM platform, our aim is to provide an intuitive, ubiquitous interface and a high-density, high-speed platform for the benefit of SIM card vendors, mobile network operators, software developers and subscribers."

Over the past year, several high-density SIM card projects have been announced by SIM vendors and operators. It is expected that these cards, combining high-density flash storage, processing power, high-speed data protocols and crypto functionality will be key catalysts for enhanced operator multimedia and data service offerings.

M-Systems has been influential in bringing the concept of a functional, high-density, secure SIM (based on M-Systems' MegaSIM platform) to the forefront of the industry. The MegaSIM platform, incorporating M-Systems' TrueFFS(R) flash file management, far enhances typical SIM architecture while maintaining full compatibility with legacy industry standards.

"By producing and selling MegaSIM-powered controllers, Atmel is demonstrating true leadership. Like M-Systems, Atmel is well-positioned to help meet the growing needs of this nascent market," said Simone Cavallo, general manager of M-Systems' MNO division. "We believe that high-density SIM cards are going to make mobile services smarter and bring true benefits to MNOs, application developers and subscribers. We are extremely pleased with this new chapter in our partnership with Atmel."

High-density SIM controllers powered by M-Systems' MegaSIM platform are scheduled to be available in the coming months.

About Atmel

Atmel is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of microcontrollers, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory and radio frequency (RF) components. Leveraging one of the industry's broadest intellectual property (IP) technology portfolios, Atmel is able to provide the electronics industry with complete system solutions. Focused on consumer, industrial, security, communications, computing and automotive markets, Atmel ICs can be found Everywhere You Are(R).

Atmel is at stand D116, Hall 1 at the 3GSM World Congress, Barcelona.

About M-Systems

M-Systems has been transforming raw flash material into smarter storage solutions since 1989. From embedded flash drives deployed in millions of mobile handsets to U3 USB smart drives designed for leading global brands, M-Systems creates, develops, manufactures and markets smart personal storage solutions for a myriad of applications targeting high growth markets. M-Systems' product lines include:

-- M-Drive (formerly DiskOnKey(R)) U3 USB smart drives for personal, portable computing

-- M-DOC embedded flash drives for mobile handsets and consumer electronics devices

-- M-SIM MegaSIM(R) series high-density SIM cards and M-SIM M.MAR(R) series SIM cards and highly secure cards (available both from M-Systems and its subsidiary Microelectronica)

-- M-Card, high-quality memory cards for mobile handsets and digital cameras

-- M-Trust (formerly Xkey(R)) end-to-end enterprise access, control and management solution for USB flash drives and other removable media

-- M-SSD (formerly FFD(TM)) rugged solid state disks for mission-critical applications

-- M-Module (formerly DiskOnChip(R) modular family) modular flash storage for embedded systems

-- M-Safe (formerly SuperMAP(R) family) secure hardware and software crypto cores

More information is available online at www.m-systems.com. M-Systems. Made smarter.

(C) Copyright M-Systems and Atmel 2006. All rights reserved.

All company and product names mentioned may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and are used for identification purposes only.

This press release includes forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as they are subject to various risks and uncertainties which may cause actual results to vary significantly. These risks include, but are not limited to: the effect of global economic conditions in general and conditions in M-Systems' industry and target markets in particular, shifts in supply and demand, market acceptance, the impact of competitive products and pricing, product development, commercialization and technological difficulties, and capacity and supply constraints including dependence on flash component suppliers; changes in M-Systems' and its customers' inventory levels and inventory valuations; timely product and technology development/upgrades and the ability to manage changes in market conditions as needed; market acceptance of new products and continuing product demand; the impact of competitive products and pricing on M-Systems' and its customers' products and markets; the development, release and sale of new products by strategic suppliers and customers; the development and growth of anticipated markets for M-Systems' and its customers' products; and other risk factors detailed from time to time in M-Systems' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. M-Systems assumes no obligation to update the information in this press release and disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any such forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Reference to M-Systems' website above does not constitute incorporation of any of the information thereon into this press release.