Gateway-AOL Internet Appliances To Be Powered By Transmeta's
Crusoe Processor
SAN DIEGO and SANTA CLARA, Calif. (May 30, 2000) -
Gateway (NYSE: GTW) has selected the Transmeta Crusoe smart processor to power
the first of its new line of network-ready Internet Appliances (IAs) that it is
developing with America Online. The Crusoe processor is ideally suited to IAs
and handheld devices because it offers sharply extended battery life, smaller
size and lower operating temperatures than traditional processors. The company
also has selected Transmeta's Mobile Linux as the operating system for these
products.
"Crusoe and Mobile Linux will help support AOL's and Gateway's strategy of
offering consumers easy-to-use, convenient, reliable Internet access and
superior Internet-based content, said Peter Ashkin, Gateway senior vice
president and chief technology officer. "Crusoe is a great processor choice to
help us to deliver the kind of new Internet services that consumers will value
in this new mark etplace. Mobile Linux will enable our wireless IAs to deliver
the performance around the house that our customers will expect."
Gateway, which also made a strategic investment in Transmeta in April 2000,
selected the Transmeta Crusoe processor for inclusion in the family of IAs it
plans to launch with AOL based on several criteria: high performance; lower
temperature operation, which permits smaller packaging; and its low-power
requirements, which dramatically increases battery life.
"AOL and Gateway have the best overall strategy in the emerging Internet
Appliance space and we are thrilled to have a strategic relationship with them
to develop Crusoe and Mobile Linux-based products," said David Ditzel, CEO of
Transmeta Corp. "At our launch in January, we promised Crusoe would usher in a
new world of mobility. With their innovative approach to Internet Appliances for
the home, Gateway and AOL are playing a significant role in moving that vision
forward."
On April 5, AOL and Gateway unveiled a groundbreaking family of specialized
Internet appliances featuring "Instant AOL" that will deliver AOL's content,
features and services to consumers in every room of their homes.
Advancing the AOL Anywhere strategy, these new devices are small, lightweight
tools for accessing the Internet in a variety of ways during the course of a
consumer's daily life.
These appliances will automatically launch the "Instant AOL" service, a
customized version of AOL's convenient and easy-to-use software. It also will
offer popular AOL content and features like e-mail and news as well as
personalized services for busy households.
These next-generation appliances will utilize the Netscape Gecko browser
technology. Gecko, Netscape's smaller, faster and more potent browser engine
technology, is a key component of the AOL Anywhere strategy and is designed to
power Internet devices across a range of platforms and enable Web developers to
create more compelling Internet-based content and applications. The first of
these devices will utilize Transmeta's Mobile Linux operating system, a more
compact, power-managed version of the robust and reliable Linux operating
system.
The companies will market these devices through their complementary sales and
distribution channels, which include the AOL service with more than 22 million
members; and the nearly one million people a day who connect with Gateway
through its phone, Web sales channels, and Gateway's innovative Gateway Country
retail locations nationwide. These new devices are another component of the
companies' strategic relationship that was announced in October 1999.
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