ADDING MULTIMEDIA NXP and Sony Create Moversa, a Joint Venture for Universal Contactless Solutions

EINDHOVEN, Netherlands & TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NXP, the independent semiconductor company founded by Philips, and Sony Corporation today announced the formation of Moversa, a joint venture (JV) that will drive global adoption of contactless smart card applications in mobile phones using Near Field Communication (NFC).

“SIM cards, identification projects and mobile payments continue to drive growth in the global smart card market. Moversa’s development of new secure technologies enabling access across different contactless IC protocols and standards will help pave the way for broader global adoption of mobile contactless services throughout the world.”

Moversa will plan, develop, produce and market a secure chip, a Universal Secure Access Module (U-SAM), that incorporates both MIFARE and FeliCa™ operating systems and applications, two of the most widely installed contactless smart card technologies in the world. The U-SAM will also support other contactless operating systems and applications based on customer requirements. Moversa will be headquartered in Vienna, Austria, and led by co-presidents Guus Frericks of NXP and Toshio Yoshihara of Sony.

When used together with an NFC chip, Moversa’s U-SAM will create a universal contactless IC platform for mobile phones that can be used globally. The formation of Moversa will accelerate the adoption of NFC on a global level. Since its co-inventors, NXP and Sony, introduced the short-range wireless technology to the market in 2002, NFC has proven popular in numerous trials, opening up new opportunities for commercial mobile services around the world.

Moversa paves the way for consumers to use mobile handsets for various contactless applications such as mobile payments and transport ticketing, anytime, anywhere. The U-SAM products will provide mobile device manufacturers with the technology to design global products compatible with different contactless protocols and operating systems deployed in different countries. This enables service providers such as mobile phone operators, transportation network operators and credit card companies to accelerate the rollout of advanced contactless services to mobile phone users. First samples of the secure chip will be available by mid-2008 for solutions embedded in mobile phones. Initial commercial deployments are targeted for the end of next year.

Marc de Jong, executive vice president and general manager, NXP Semiconductors, said: “Moversa signals the next step in the evolution of contactless technologies. Combining multiple contactless technologies in a single secure chip opens a vast array of opportunities for service providers to roll out great new services to consumers on a global scale – from using your handset as a credit card, to making online purchases and paying for public transportation.”

Hiromasa Otsuka, corporate executive and senior vice president, Sony Corporation, commented: “The offerings from Moversa will enable users around the globe to enjoy a wide range of services that will change their lifestyles simply by touching a terminal with a mobile phone. Moversa will also bring Sony great opportunities to offer, on a worldwide basis, the contactless IC business model it has established in Japan, where mobile phone wallet services are deployed in multi-application, multi-handset and multi-carrier modes.”

Analyst Anoop Ubhey, smart cards global program director, Frost & Sullivan, said: “SIM cards, identification projects and mobile payments continue to drive growth in the global smart card market. Moversa’s development of new secure technologies enabling access across different contactless IC protocols and standards will help pave the way for broader global adoption of mobile contactless services throughout the world.”

NXP and Sony will continue to offer chips and applications based on their respective technology platforms MIFARE and FeliCa, while developing NFC technologies jointly.

Outline of Joint Venture

Company Name:		Moversa GmbH
Head Office:		Gutheil-Schoder-Gasse 8-12, A-1102 Vienna, Austria
Nominal Capital:		100.000 EUR
Total Capitalization:		28 Mio. USD
Company shares:		NXP 50% - Sony 50%
Main Business:		Development, Manufacturing, Marketing and Sales of Secure Chips
		Incorporating MIFARE, FeliCa and other operating systems
Management Board:		President Guus Frericks
		Co-President Toshio Yoshihara

About NXP Semiconductors

NXP is a top 10 semiconductor company founded by Philips more than 50 years ago. Headquartered in Europe, the company has 37,000 employees working in more than 20 countries and posted sales of EUR 5 billion in 2006. NXP creates semiconductors, system solutions and software that deliver better sensory experiences in mobile phones, personal media players, TVs, set-top boxes, identification applications, cars and a wide range of other electronic devices. News from NXP is located at www.nxp.com.

About Sony Corporation

Sony Corporation is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, game, communications, key device and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. With its music, pictures, computer entertainment and on-line businesses, Sony is uniquely positioned to be the leading personal broadband entertainment company in the world. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of approximately $70 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007. Sony Global Web Site: http://www.sony.net/

Note to editors:

FeliCa is a registered trademark of Sony Corporation. Other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Forward-looking Statements

This release may contain certain forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of NXP and certain plans and objectives of NXP with respect to these items. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future and there are many factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.