Arc Sonic Focus-Ready

Arc International PLC
11 March 2008



Media Contact:
Jonah McLeod
ARC International
[phone]
[e-mail]



              ARC Introduces the World's First "Sonic Focus-Ready"
           Audio Subsystem, Setting New Standards for Sound Fidelity
                           And Energy Efficiency



SAN JOSE, Calif., and ST. ALBANS, England, March 11, 2008 - ARC International
(LSE: ARK) today introduced the newest addition to its ARC(R) Sound Subsystem
family, the ARC Sound 210E.  This fully programmable, licensable solution
enables system-on-chip (SoC) designers to build devices that achieve
high-quality audio using a very low power budget.  As with all ARC Subsystem
products, the AS 210E is multi-standard and supports a wide range of popular
digital audio formats. The ARC Sound 210E Subsystem also supports the
award-winning Sonic Focus audio post-processing software, and incorporates the
recently introduced ARC Energy PROTM power management technology.  This news
release is part of the introduction of ARC's new low power Energy PRO cores that
also was announced today.  Visit www.arc.com for more information.



Targeting the Portable Multimedia Market

The AS 210E Subsystem is ideal for the feature-rich portable multimedia player
(PMP) market, which is one of the fastest growing segments of the consumer
electronics industry.  According to Semico Research, over the next five years
this market will achieve a compound annual growth rate of 25 percent and have
more than 150 million annual unit shipments.  Supporting and providing
innovative technology for chips targeting PMPs, such as Sonic Focus and Energy
PROTM, ARC intends to increase its growing share of this market by addressing
two of the major issues of PMP devices - suboptimal audio quality and limited
play time.

Unique Capability

The new AS 210E Subsystem's advanced Energy PROTM power management techniques
reduce power consumption by turning off the subsystem when no activity is
registered. Energy PRO techniques can also conserve power by adjusting operating
frequency to match the workload of the device.  If enabled by MQX software,
Energy PRO can manage power to the entire chip.  Not only do these techniques
lower the power consumption by over 40 percent when the device is in operation,
but also cut power to almost nil when idle.



In addition, the ARC Sound 210E Subsystem is completely pre-verified and
pre-integrated. To reduce overall design effort and time to market, the AS 210E
can be integrated in to the Cadence's Low-Power Solution EDA flow leveraging CPF
(Common Power Format).  Lastly, available with the ARC Sound 210E is a library
of software codecs for popular audio formats such as MPEG-2/4 AAC and Dolby
Digital, among others.



"The new AS 210E Subsystem extends ARC's leadership in audio solutions by
incorporating state-of-the-art low-power and sound enhancement technologies,"
said Bill Jackson, vice president of marketing at ARC International.  "And the
SoC designer can build a differentiated solution that is energy efficient and
provides a better audio experience."



Availability

The ARC Sound 210E Subsystem and library of audio codecs are available for
licensing immediately. Contact ARC at [e-mail] or visit www.arc.com for more
information.



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About ARC International plc
ARC International is the world leader in multimedia subsystems and configurable
CPU/DSP processors.  Used by over 140 companies worldwide, ARC's configurable
solutions enable the creation of highly differentiated system-on-chips (SoCs)
that ship in hundreds of millions of devices annually.  ARC's patented
subsystems and cores are smaller, consume less power, and are less expensive to
manufacture than competing products.



ARC International maintains a worldwide presence with corporate and research and
development offices in San Jose and Lake Tahoe, Calif., St. Albans, England, and
St. Petersburg, Russia.  For more information visit www.ARC.com.  ARC
International is listed on the London Stock Exchange as ARC International plc
(LSE: ARK).



ARC and the ARC logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of ARC
International. All other brands or product names contained herein are the
property of their respective owners. This press release may contain certain
"forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties, including the
development, implementation, and release of features described herein. These are
at the sole discretion of ARC International. Licenses from 3rd parties for
certain software and essential patents may be required depending on licensee's
use/implementation. For other factors that could cause actual results to differ,
visit the company's Website as well as the listing particulars filed with the
United Kingdom Listing Authority and the Registrar of Companies in England and
Wales.




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