Atmel Launches Complete Digital Audio Platform for Consumer Applications

SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Atmel® Corporation (NASDAQ: ATML), a leader in microcontroller and touch technology solutions, today announced a complete Digital Audio Platform for consumer, automotive and industrial applications. The Atmel Digital Audio Platform offers audio equipment and mobile accessory OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) a complete hardware and firmware solution that greatly simplifies the task of designing high-quality digital audio equipment. The new Digital Audio Platform is implemented with the Atmel AVR® UC3 microcontrollers specifically tailored for audio applications such as smartphone and media player docking stations.

The Digital Audio Platform integrates dedicated microcontrollers, evaluation kits and firmware IP. The firmware IP includes control and streaming interfaces for a selection of popular smartphones and portable media players as well as MP3, WMA and AAC decoders to allow designers to decode compressed music files; USB protocol stacks; and a complete file system to allow designers to navigate through mass storage devices such as USB Flash disks or SD cards. The platform uses a ready-to-go commercial licensing model for firmware IP that enables designers to keep their firmware code confidential, unlike many audio license agreements today that require the firmware code to be open. The Digital Audio Platform is ideal for applications including docking stations, USB mass storage, SD card playback, car stereos, USB speakers, microphones, and various voice and music equipment. Other applications include mobile accessories (accessories connected to smartphones or tablets) that use the same underlying technology.

With all the benefits of the Atmel AVR UC3 microcontrollers, the Digital Audio Platform offers designers a system that is highest in performance and lowest in power. The AVR UC3 microcontrollers also support the Atmel QTouch® Library for easy implementation of elegant, differentiating user interfaces for capacitive touch buttons, sliders and wheels.

"Designing digital audio applications has historically been a complex, cumbersome task of finding the required firmware IP, licensing it and finally stitching it together in a working application," said Ingar Fredriksen, sr. director of AVR products, Atmel Corporation. "The Atmel Digital Audio Platform offers an 'out-of-the-box solution' to enable designers to develop today's audio applications with minimum engineering effort spent on getting the core design working."

To help accelerate a designer's audio application development, evaluation kits (EVK) are also available with the Digital Audio Platform. Evaluation kits include a board with an Atmel AVR MCU and free downloadable source code. The Atmel AVR EVK1104AU/1105AU audio development kits are available in the Atmel Store at http://store.atmel.com and through Atmel-qualified distributors.

Pricing and availability

The Atmel Digital Audio Platform is available now. Pricing for 10,000-piece quantities:

Evaluation kit pricing:

EVK1105AU: $179 USD

EVK1104AU: $169 USD

More Information

For more information about the Digital Audio Platform, please visit: www.atmel.com/audio.

Additional information on Atmel UC3 AVR microcontrollers is available at http://www.atmel.com/uc3.

About Atmel
Atmel Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML) is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of microcontrollers, capacitive touch solutions, 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 industrial, consumer, communications, computing and automotive markets.

© 2011 Atmel Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Atmel®, Atmel logo and combinations thereof, AVR®, QTouch® and others are registered trademark or trademarks of Atmel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Other terms and product names may be trademarks of others.

Press Contact:

Clive Over, Director, Public Relations

Tel: (+1) 408-436-4305, Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Atmel Corporation