WIDCOMM and Micro-Star Embed Bluetooth on PC Motherboard

WIDCOMM, the leading provider of wireless communication system software, today announced that it has licensed its complete Bluetooth communication software suite for the Windows PC platform to Micro-Star International (MSI), one of the worlds leading PC Motherboard manufacturers. Under the terms of the agreement, MSI will include WIDCOMMs Bluetooth Protocol Software for Windows (BTW) with its PC motherboard products. The MSI PC2PC-Bluetooth is a kit embedded on PC motherboards, in a configuration destined to provide Bluetooth wireless capability to a new generation of PC computers.

CeBIT, HANNOVER - - March 18, 2002 - - WIDCOMM, the leading provider of wireless communication system software, today announced that it has licensed its complete Bluetooth communication software suite for the Windows PC platform to Micro-Star International (MSI), one of the worlds leading PC Motherboard manufacturers. Under the terms of the agreement, MSI will include WIDCOMMs Bluetooth Protocol Software for Windows (BTW) with its PC motherboard products. The MSI PC2PC-Bluetooth is a kit embedded on PC motherboards, in a configuration destined to provide Bluetooth wireless capability to a new generation of PC computers.
MSI will be the first motherboard manufacturer to implement Bluetooth wireless technology directly on its PC motherboard products, resulting in the first integrated Bluetooth desktop PCs. The MSI-WIDCOMM collaboration marks a major step for the PC industry as initial implementations were only targeted at daughter cards and USB adaptors primarily for notebook PCs.
For PC OEMs, software and hardware interoperability is a key factor in the broad commercialization of Bluetooth. WIDCOMMs BTW is designed to operate seamlessly on various PC platforms, and it provides a clear advantage in terms of time-to-market for MSI and its customers," commented Andreas Malzach, WIDCOMMs Vice President of Marketing. Were proud to participate in MSIs groundbreaking efforts to integrate Bluetooth as a standard feature of desktop PCs."
In signing a software licensing agreement with WIDCOMM, MSI is responding to the strong customer demand for Bluetooth wireless capability in computers. We sought to combine our hardware products with BTW because WIDCOMMs software solutions provide the most extensive and reliable support for the desktop and notebook PC market," commented Charles Chiang, MSIs VP of R&D Division. The WIDCOMM cooperation enables us to guarantee that subsequent generations of desktop PCs will be equipped with state-of-the-art Bluetooth technology that corresponds to MSIs high standards for user-friendly design."

About WIDCOMM, Inc.
Founded in 1998 in San Diego, WIDCOMM is the leading provider of wireless communication system software and turnkey designs. WIDCOMM software enables technology for all wireless communication devices, in the fields of automotive, computing, consumer electronics, embedded systems, semiconductor and telecommunications. WIDCOMM customers and key partnerships include Wistron Corporation, formerly Acer NeWeb Corporation, Brother, Broadcom, Compaq Corporation, CSR, Infineon Technologies, Murata, OKI, OSK, Philips, Plantronics, Seiko Instrument, TDK, Texas Instruments and more. For more information, please visit www.WIDCOMM.com.

About MSI
Micro-Star International (MSI), headquartered in Jung-He City, Taiwan is one of the top three-motherboard manufacturers in the world. Since 1986, MSI has provided award-winning products such as motherboards, add-on cards, or graphics cards, while maintaining outstanding customer service. Thanks to a solid foundation in R&D and a large production capacity, MSI uses its resources in the best way to develop innovative product lines, such as 3D Graphics Cards, Slim PCs, Professional Servers, Optical Devices, Set-Top Boxes (STB) and PDAs. MSI has enjoyed rapid growth in recent years and has increased its production capacity both in Taiwan and China. MSIs overall monthly production capacity of motherboards has passed the one million-unit mark.
MSI subsidiaries and service centers are located throughout the world, in the U.S.A., Latin America, U.K., Germany, France, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, China, and the Netherlands. For further information about MSI, please visit: http://www.msi.com.tw.