Atmel ASIC powers Franklin's next-gen handhelds

Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc. has chosen Atmel Corp.'s ARM core-based ASIC to support its next-generation of handheld consumer products.

Atmel's family of ASICs based on ARM technology provides a line of standard products for immediate prototyping and software development, qualified-in-silicon hardware blocks, and an 0.18?m standard cell library. According to Franklin, its choice of the Atmel microprocessor plays well with the company's product line which ranges from dictionaries, translators, and electronic reference books.