Micronas Launches New Ultra-Small MIDI/MP3 Decoders for Portable Multimedia and Mobile Handset Markets (0225)

Successful MP3 Decoder Family Now Featuring MIDI Support for Mobile and Converging Multimedia Applications

Freiburg, Germany -December 4, 2002- Micronas, a leading supplier of IC solutions for multimedia, consumer and automotive electronics announced the latest member of its MAS digital audio decoder/encoder family targeted for the high-growth portable multimedia device markets. Based on the Micronas MAS DSP platform, the MAS 35x5G features include leading-edge wavetable based MIDI synthesis in combination with MP3 decoding capabilities in a miniature 40-pin BGA package.

"The MAS 35x5G ICs can provide up to 40 voices of high-quality MIDI audio for gaming, ambient and ring melodies, all of which are key audio features in mobile and converging multimedia products", says Shawn Richards, director marketing multimedia at Micronas.

Its small size, a minimum supply voltage of 2.7 V, an I/O voltage range down to 1.8 V, additional power management and power-down functions make the MAS 35x5G an ideal choice for applications within portable systems. In addition to MIDI and ADPCM, the MAS 3515G supports MP3 decoding in a completely pin-compatible package.

Over 100 companies worldwide are currently using Micronas chips in their MP3 and digital audio featured products. Micronas continues to stimulate this rapidly evolving market segment with its innovative product concepts and feature integration. For example, applications such as ring songs, singing alarms and the general audio enhancement of system activation or key press recognition can now be supported. Target products include mobile phones, PDAs, CD players, digital audio players, handheld gaming units and interactive toys.

The main functional blocks of the MAS 35x5G are the MIDI synthesizer and the compressed audio and speech decoder. A high-performance 20-Bit DSP RISC core, supported by both serial and parallel data interfaces and by an integrated PLL, utilizes the on-chip RAM and ROM to provide efficient and flexible access to all the primary audio synthesis and decoding functions. A program download option allows the support of additional functionalities such as ADPCM encoding.

The MAS 3505G and MAS 3515G are available now, packaged in 40-pin BGA (6.0 x 8.0 x 1.2 mm) and priced between US$ 3.90 (MAS 3505G - MIDI only) and US$ 4.50 (MAS 3515G - additional MP3 decoder) in high volumes.