PCMCIA Announces Plans to Update the ExpressCard(R) Standard

ExpressCard Standard 2.0 Will Offer Improved Transfer Rates Based on New
Releases of the PCI Express(R) and USB(R) Standards

HANNOVER, Germany, March 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- PCMCIA, the leading
technology trade association for PC Card(TM) and ExpressCard(R) technology,
today announced that the ExpressCard Standard, currently at Release 1.2, is
undergoing a significant update to accommodate the faster speeds increasingly
demanded by today's high-performance mobile technologies.

ExpressCard technology (http://www.expresscard.org) is the next-generation PC
Card technology for high-performance expansion of desktop and mobile systems.
ExpressCard and PC Card slots can be found on more than 95 percent of notebook
computers.

The announcement was made at CeBIT, where PCMCIA is exhibiting at Hall 13 D34.
A press conference showing these products will be held on Thursday, March, 6,
in Room 18 of the Convention Hall.

PCMCIA members showing products at CeBIT are:

-- BrainBoxes launches its ExpressCard-to-serial range, an extension of its
current PCMCIA-to-serial range;

-- Village Tronic (Hall 13 D34) introduces the ViDock Gfx, a high performance
graphics docking station that allows the connections of up to two additional
external displays to an ExpressCard equipped notebook;

-- WIBU-SYSTEMS' (Hall 6 K46) announces the CmCard/E, offering the latest in
CodeMeter(R) Digital Rights Management (DRM) for access protection and license
management for digital products.

The new ExpressCard Standard 2.0 will support transfer rates ranging from two
to 10 times faster than ExpressCard Standard 1.2, depending on the data
protocol used. The ExpressCard Standard 2.0 will enable manufacturers to
develop higher performance ExpressCard products for consumers. Some of the
applications that will benefit from this improved performance include:

-- Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) 2.0 adapters supporting large
file transfers between computers and various storage devices;

-- Very high-performance streaming media and video adapters; and

-- Very high-performance storage modules based on flash memory technologies,
e.g. solid-state drive applications.

The ExpressCard Standard is based on the advanced serial I/O technologies, PCI
Express(R) and USB. The Standard is being updated to comply with the recent
release of the PCI Express specification, Version 2.0, which offers transfer
rates of up to 5Gbps, two times faster than its previous version. The
ExpressCard 2.0 Standard will also support the new SuperSpeed USB, which is
planned for release later this year as part of the USB 3.0 specification.
The new SuperSpeed USB standard will support speeds of up to 10 times faster
than Hi-Speed USB.

"We are inviting all ExpressCard product developers to join in our activities
as we formalize the requirements of the new standard," said Brad Saunders,
chairman, PCMCIA. "We hope to build on the solid foundation set by the
ExpressCard 1.0 Standard and encourage developers to provide feedback and
comment for improvements. This is a terrific opportunity for notebook and
module developers to take advantage of the ExpressCard 2.0 Standard to create
new, innovative consumer products that leverage these significant performance
improvements."

The ExpressCard 2.0 Standard will support backward compatibility with products
compliant with any previous versions of the Standard. Any compliant
ExpressCard product will work in any ExpressCard slot, regardless of which
version of the Standard the product complies with. A new compliance program
will be phased in once the ExpressCard 2.0 Standard is released.

Current ExpressCard "plug 'n' play" applications include memory, local area
network (LAN), wireless broadband (WWAN), WiFi, memory adapters, parallel
adapters, serial adapters, TV tuners, smart card readers, instrumentation,
1394A&B adapters, serial ATA (SATA) adapters and USB adapters.

Dell, Fujitsu Siemens, HP, Intel, Lenovo, Lexar Media, LG Electronics,
Microsoft, Sony, Texas Instruments and Toshiba are among those supporting
development of the ExpressCard standard.

About PCMCIA

PCMCIA (http://www.pcmcia.org) is a non-profit trade association founded in
1989 to establish technical standards for PC Card technology and to promote
interchangeability among computer systems. Already a feature in almost every
notebook and palmtop computer, PC Card technology empowers users to configure
systems and create unique, integrated solutions to meet their computing needs.
Based in San Jose, California, the association has a growing membership of 150
companies worldwide. The PCMCIA also has a specification development and
co-publishing relationship with the Japan Electronics and Information
Technology Industries Association (JEITA) covering PC Card and Smart Media
technologies.

ExpressCard is a registered trademark of PCMCIA. PC Card is a trademark of
PCMCIA. *All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their
registered owners.

Editor's Note: Photos available at http://www.expresscard.org.

SOURCE PCMCIA

Mary Hain, +1-925-926-0326, mary@hainpr.com, for PCMCIA