October 6^th, 2004 (12:00am) - RF Micro Devices, Inc., a leading provider of proprietary radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) for wireless communications applications, today announced the Company has begun production shipments of its 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN) transceiver for use in the new Nintendo DS.

By enabling wireless connectivity in the Nintendo DS, RFMD’s WLAN transceiver provides a wireless link to other Nintendo DS units within range. Additionally, with its chat software and wireless capabilities, Nintendo DS gamers are able to transmit text messages, handwriting and even drawings to one another.

"RFMD’s energy-efficient wireless device enables Nintendo to include wireless technology in the Nintendo DS handheld at a low cost," said Satoru Okada, general manager, research and engineering at Nintendo Co., Ltd. "The embedded wireless functionality will enable developers to create rich game designs which were not considered possible in the past, further expanding the fascinating world of Nintendo DS."

"We are extremely excited to be working with Nintendo, the world’s leading name in the gaming industry," said Kris Raush, product line direct of wireless LAN products at RF Micro Devices. "Additionally, we are pleased to build upon the success of our WLAN transceiver products, which offer distinct advantages in bill of materials (BOM) cost, size, performance and power consumption. These competitive advantages are driving incremental customer traction as an increasing number of electronic devices are being designed to capitalize on consumer demand for wireless connectivity."

"We are very pleased to add Nintendo to our blue-chip customer base, which features many of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-volume consumer electronic devices," said Frank Morese, corporate vice president of the wireless connectivity business unit at RF Micro Devices. "As one of the world’s leading video game manufacturers, Nintendo provides RFMD a valuable growth opportunity as we expand into the explosive video gaming market."

RFMD is a trusted supplier of high-volume, low-cost wireless components to leading manufacturers in multiple high-volume markets, including wireless networking, Bluetooth technology and cellular handsets. The cellular handset market is the world’s highest-volume consumer electronics market, with estimated handset shipments in 2003 of 510 million units. The video gaming market had estimated shipments in 2003 of 56 million units and is expected to grow to 80 million units by 2007.