Arkle Res Regulatory News (ARK)

3 Mar 2008 07:02

Arc International PLC03 March 2008 Media Contact:Jonah McLeodARC International+1 408 437 3477Jonah.Mcleod@arc.com ARC Helps STEC's New MACH4 CompactFlash Capture HD Multimedia Content at Twice the Speed Of Competitive Offerings New ARC-Based(TM) MACH4 CompactFlash SSD Delivers 80 MB/s;Affords Professional Video Equipment A High Capacity Alternative to Hard Drives SAN JOSE, Calif., and ST. ALBANS, England, March 3, 2008 - ARC International(LSE: ARK) today announced that STEC Inc. (Nasdaq: STEC), a leading supplier ofsolid state drives (SSDs), has extended its existing relationship with ARC andtaken a new license for ARC's configurable technology. The new license from amajor flash memory supplier enhances ARC's position as one of the leadingsuppliers in this growing market, which is forecast to surpass 1 billion unitsshipped per year according to Semico Research Corporation. This latest STECimplementation of ARC's configurable core is contained in STEC's new MACH4CompactFlash device. Please see related news release dated February 26, 2008from STEC for more information (http://biz.yahoo.com/pz/080226/137051.html) Since 1994 STEC has been a leader in innovative solid state storage technology,with particular emphasis on high performance and high reliability. STEC'sARC-Based(TM) MACH4 enhances its SSD offering by providing CompactFlash storagewith twice the data transfer rate (up to 80MB/s) of other CompactFlash devices.This performance opens up a new opportunity with professional video equipmentmanufacturers, who have found hard drives a less-than-optimum storage media forhigh definition (HD) video. HD video cameras now have an SSD replacement forhard drives, which provide comparable storage capacity, but are smaller, consumeless power, have no mechanical vibration, and offer higher performance. Patrick Wilkison, vice president of marketing and business development at STEC,said, "ARC's configurable technology has enabled our engineering team to createa highly differentiated product that provides a more optimized computingplatform to system OEMs. The result is a solution that delivers higher value bygreatly speeding access to stored digital and multimedia content." Bill Jackson, vice president of marketing at ARC International, said, "STEC isamong our growing list of customers in the solid state storage market whorecognize that providing superior performance to their OEM customers is the wayto assure product success. We applaud their ingenuity and ability to develop aunique and innovative ARC-Based solution." Thriving CompactFlash Market According to Semico Research, the availability of flash memory with very highstorage capacities has spawned nothing short of a revolution in the wayconsumers and business people regard and access their data. Semico expects thistrend to continue. As a result, the Phoenix AZ market research firm isforecasting that the Flash market will experience continued robust growth and by2012 will ship 1.3 billion units with a market value of $19 billion. # # # About ARC International plcARC International is the world leader in multimedia subsystems and configurableCPU/DSP processors. Used by over 140 companies worldwide, ARC's configurablesolutions enable the creation of highly differentiated system-on-chips (SoCs)that ship in hundreds of millions of devices annually. ARC's patentedsubsystems and cores are smaller, consume less power, and are less expensive tomanufacture than competing products. ARC International maintains a worldwide presence with corporate and research anddevelopment offices in San Jose and Lake Tahoe, Calif., St. Albans, England, andSt. Petersburg, Russia. For more information visit www.ARC.com. ARCInternational is listed on the London Stock Exchange as ARC International plc(LSE: ARK). ARC and the ARC logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of ARCInternational. All other brands or product names contained herein are theproperty of their respective owners. This press release may contain certain"forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties, including thedevelopment, implementation, and release of features described herein. These areat the sole discretion of ARC International. Licenses from 3rd parties forcertain software and essential patents may be required depending on licensee'suse/implementation. For other factors that could cause actual results to differ,visit the company's Website as well as the listing particulars filed with theUnited Kingdom Listing Authority and the Registrar of Companies in England andWales. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange