IAdea/Star Semi Jointly Develop the First BitTorrent-Optimized Microprocessor

Taipei, Taiwan (PRWeb) January 10, 2007 -- IAdea Corporation, the Taiwan-based licensee of BitTorrent technology, and Star Semiconductor Corporation, an affiliate of the semiconductor giant UMC Group, jointly announces the availability of STR9810/20, the world's first BitTorrent-optimized microprocessor chip.



BitTorrent is a peer-assisted, digital content delivery platform that provides the fastest, most efficient means of distributing, discovering and consuming high-quality files on the Web. With an install base of over 135 million worldwide, the protocol is the leading platform used to facilitate the distribution of video, music, games, and software. BitTorrent has signed content license agreements with over 20 leading entertainment companies, including 20th Century Fox, MTV Networks, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. By adopting the technology, content providers will be able to deliver large media files to millions of viewers simultaneously without investing heavily in server hardware and bandwidth.

"BitTorrent continues to expand its roster of partners along the digital content value chain -- from content destination sites to the semiconductors that power the most popular consumer electronic devices," said Ashwin Navin, President and Co-Founder of BitTorrent. "The growing BitTorrent ecosystem reflects our vision for BitTorrent embedded everywhere people want an improved entertainment experience."

"BitTorrent is going to fundamentally advance the Web to its next stage. New digital appliances utilizing our chip work cooperatively to deliver large media files. This new service architecture is infinitely scalable, delivers faster as more users join, and can be built at a fraction of the cost of a traditional server farm," says John C. Wang, CEO of IAdea Corporation, the developer of the technology inside the new chip. "We see this trend emerging as 'Web 3.0' where each consumer becomes part of a universal content storage and delivery system. Our new chip plays part in the new paradigm by making BitTorrent available efficiently and economically. You should not be surprised if you find your next car or cellphone enabled with our technology."

Until today, most of the BitTorrent downloads are done by software that runs on the PC. The new microprocessor will enable consumer electronics hardware makers to create devices that directly download and play BitTorrent content. "I remember in the old days people first watched DVDs on the PC, like how BitTorrent is used on the PC today," says Steven Huang, Chairman and CEO of Star Semiconductor Corporation, the co-developer of the new chip. "Very soon our chip will enable millions of consumer devices to run BitTorrent and help consumers do what they do today on the PC using just a simple remote control."

The BitTorrent-optimized STR9810/20 microprocessors will be available in Q1 2007. Two versions of the chips are available with various hardware-based acceleration levels. In addition both chips feature an ARM922-based core, network interface and dual USB 2.0 high-speed ports, allowing fast integration with existing embedded consumer products such as wireless routers, NAS, smart HDD enclosures, DVD players, set-top boxes, and DLNA digital media appliances. The chips will be available starting at $8.75 in 1K quantities.

About IAdea
IAdea is a network multimedia technology company founded in 2000. Over the past few years IAdea has helped manufacturers worldwide to create trend-setting digital appliances. The products designed by IAdea has received multiple international awards, including the IF Design Award, the HKEIA Award for Outstanding Innovation and Technology Products, and the Taiwan's Infomonth Best Product awards. IAdea is composed of a highly skilled embedded systems designers and holds multiple international patents in the network multimedia space.

About Star Semi
Star Semiconductor Corporation, as an affiliate of UMC Group, was founded in October 2002. With the world leading foundry support of UMC's advanced semiconductor process and alliance with package/testing partners, Star has successfully delivered the most cost-effective SoC solutions with excellent performance and fit the customers' time-to-market needs. Some innovative technology development has been awarded government funding supports, and Star also successfully achieved design-wins from leading OEM/ODM system manufacturers in broadband home networking products.

About BitTorrent Inc.
BitTorrent is home to the world's leading open-source file-sharing protocol by the same name, specifically created to overcome the obstacles of transferring large files over the Internet. Created in 2001, BitTorrent is enabling millions of users worldwide to publish, search and download popular digital content quickly, easily and securely. BitTorrent is a privately held company headquartered in San Francisco, California. For more information, visit www.bittorrent.com.

BitTorrent is a trademark of BitTorrent Inc. used by IAdea under license.

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