Seagate Announces Availability of Seagate's Storage Management Module(TM) on STMicroelectronics' Nomadik(TM) Family of Multimedia Application Processors
BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 12 -- 2007 3GSM SHOW -- Seagate Technology(R) (NYSE:STX) today announced the availability of Seagate's Storage Management Module(TM) (SMM(TM)) on the Nomadik(TM) family of multimedia application processors from STMicroelectronics, the leader in delivering high-performance, low-power multimedia solutions for next- generation mobile devices. This partnership increases flexibility allowing hard drives to be used as an option for storage in consumer electronic devices based on the Nomadik processors.
Hard drive storage has been the key enabler for consumers to access content when, where, and how they want it on devices such as MP3 players, portable media players, digital video recorders, GPS systems, and game consoles. Gigabytes of storage in combination with STMicroelectronics' Nomadik processors on mobile devices create what consumers will depend on for entertainment, information, and communication. On-board storage for mobile devices, such as mobile TV platforms, mitigates quality-of-service issues with over-the-air streaming media, by delivering a reliable download-and-store multimedia experience every time, whether in a high-interference urban area or in rural settings where even digital television signals are stretched thin. Additionally, on-board storage provides consumers instant access to everything available on the device allowing consumer flexibility to mix network content downloaded over-the-air with personal content side-loaded from other sources.
"STMicroelectronics' certification of the Storage Management Module is another indicator of the importance of storage capacity in mobile applications," said Rob Pait, director of Global Consumer Electronics Marketing at Seagate. "As consumers continue to demand more audio and video on demand, SMM will help platforms such as Nomadik expand their platforms to offer hard drive-based solutions for their customers."
"Multi-gigabyte level storage is fast becoming a significant piece on the increasingly sophisticated mosaic of product features offered by next- generation mobile devices," said Patrice Meilland, marketing director of ST's Application Processor Division. "It's absolutely essential for ST to be able to offer this kind of capability to mobile communication and consumer OEMs as part of the Nomadik mobile multimedia processor platform."
Seagate's SMM Overcomes Technology Barriers
SMM is a software solution that overcomes many of the technology barriers for integrating the hard drive into the mobile phone, enabling this advanced experience.
-- Speeds time-to-market and cuts development time by providing drivers and file system, adding turnkey hard disc drive (HDD) support to the chipset. The included CE-ATA driver is interoperable with the SD and MMC controllers used by most mobile multimedia devices.
-- Dramatically reduces HDD power consumption in mobile devices such as personal media players, extending battery life even while the consumer is enjoying power-hogging applications such as video. For example, SMM adds intelligence that utilizes onboard solid-state memory embedded within the Nomadik chipset to increase the efficiency of delivering multimedia streams from the drive to the system.
-- Improves device performance. SMM caches certain command sets to support performance features that consumers expect in mobile multimedia devices, such as instant-on and near-instantaneous media recording and playback response.
Seagate provides testing and qualification services for OEMs seeking to enable any device using SMM.
STMicroelectronics Nomadik(R) Family of Processors
STMicroelectronics' Nomadik(R) family of multimedia application processor chips enables portable terminals to play music, take pictures, record video and host 2-way video communication in real time. The family of application processors are aimed at 2.5G/3G mobile phones, personal digital assistants and other portable wireless products with multimedia capability. In addition they are suitable for automotive multimedia applications.
Nomadik application processors are designed specifically with mobile devices in mind, offering device manufacturers the following competitive advantages:
-- Ultra-low power consumption for longer battery operation
-- Unsurpassed audio, video and imaging quality
-- Easier application development for shorter time-to-market
-- Scalability for multiple market segments and future multimedia applications.
The Nomadik application processors are currently being used in Seagate's Mobile DTV Platform.
Consumer electronic devices utilizing Seagate's SMM on STMicroelectronics' Nomadik family of processors will be available to consumers in the second quarter of calendar year 2007. Additional information on Seagate's Storage Management Module can be found at http://3gsm.seagate.com/.
About Seagate
Seagate is the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of hard disc drives, providing products for a wide-range of applications, including Enterprise, Desktop, Mobile Computing, Consumer Electronics and Branded Solutions. Seagate's business model leverages technology leadership and world-class manufacturing to deliver industry-leading innovation and quality to its global customers, and to be the low cost producer in all markets in which it participates. The company is committed to providing award- winning products, customer support and reliability to meet the world's growing demand for information storage. Seagate can be found around the globe at http://www.seagate.com/.
NOTE: Seagate, Seagate Technology and the Wave logo are registered trademarks of Seagate Technology LLC. Storage Management Module, and SMM, are trademarks of Seagate Technology LLC. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. One gigabyte, or GB, equals one billion bytes when referring to hard drive capacity. One terabyte, or TB, equals 1,000 gigabytes when referring to hard drive capacity. Accessible capacity may vary depending on operating environment and formatting. Quantitative usage examples for various applications are for illustrative purposes. Actual quantities will vary based on various factors, including file size, file format, features and application software.
CONTACT: Colleen Rodriguez, +1-831-439-2499, or colleen.rodriguez@seagate.com, or Woody Monroy, +1-831-439-2838, or woody.monroy@seagate.com
