National Semiconductor's WEBENCH Toolset Named Innovation of the Year in EDN Magazine's 15th Annual Innovator Awards

National Semiconductor's WEBENCH Toolset Named Innovation of the
Year in EDN Magazine's 15th Annual Innovator Awards 


SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 9  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- National
Semiconductor's WEBENCH(R) Online Design Environment has been selected from
hundreds of entries as the winner of EDN Magazine's 2004 Innovator/Innovation
Awards.  Instituted in 1990, the Innovation Awards honor the people, products
and technologies that have shaped the semiconductor industry during the past
year.  EDN announced the Innovator/Innovation winners at the InterContinental
Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco the evening of March 7, 2005.

EDN selected National Semiconductor's WEBENCH Active Filter Designer as the
winner in the EDA (electronic design automation) category for its ability to
speed the creation of sophisticated filters for data acquisition and signal
conditioning applications.  Designed from the ground up, the online tool lets
engineers design advanced, highly customized filters for all standard filter
types: low pass, high pass, band pass and band stop.  To view a demonstration
showing how to create a 9th order low-pass filter with Bessel response in
seconds, see http://filterdemo.national.com/.

"It is an honor to be recognized as an analog innovation leader in the EDA
field," said Phil Gibson, vice president of National Semiconductor's Corporate
Marketing group.  "National first broke ground in this area with the EDN's 2001
Innovation of the Year selection for the WEBENCH toolset for power supplies. 
Since our beginning with the first WEBENCH release in 2000, we continue to
develop tools for analog designers that make it easier for them to do their
jobs.  Winning the EDN Innovation of the Year Award for the WEBENCH Active
Filter Designer is further indication of National Semiconductor's success in
the development of design tools for analog engineers."

How EDN Chose Innovators

Electronics-industry professionals make the initial nominations, and EDN's
editors choose the finalists. The manufacturers of this year's nominated
products must have introduced and commercially marketed those products in the
2004 calendar year.  A combination of voting by readers, the EDN Editorial
Advisory Board, and the EDN editors chose the winners.

"Innovation is the heart and soul of engineering, and these awards demonstrate
that the search for new technologies to improve quality of life is alive and
well in the global semiconductor industry," said John Dodge, EDN editor in
chief. "We applaud all the engineers who are dedicated to nurturing the spirit
of discovery and invention."

About EDN

EDN, the premier design magazine of the electronics industry, is published by
Reed Business Information. Headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts, EDN serves
the vital information needs of design engineers and engineering managers
worldwide. The EDN franchise includes EDN, EDN Europe, EDN Asia, EDN China, EDN
Japan, and EDN.com, the only full-content, EOEM publication and Web site.

About National Semiconductor

National Semiconductor, the industry's premier analog company, creates
high-performance analog devices and subsystems.  National's leading-edge
products include power management circuits, display drivers, audio and
operational amplifiers, communication interface products and data conversion
solutions. National's key markets include wireless handsets, displays, PCs and
laptops.  The company's analog products are also optimized for numerous
applications in a variety of electronics markets, including medical,
automotive, industrial, and test and measurement.  Headquartered in Santa
Clara, California, National reported sales of $1.98 billion for fiscal 2004,
which ended May 30, 2004.  Additional company and product information is
available at http://www.national.com/.

National Semiconductor and WEBENCH are registered trademarks of National
Semiconductor Corporation.   The SPICE engine for WEBENCH Active Filter
Designer is supplied by Intusoft Corporation.  All other brand or product names
are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

   Editorial Contact                   Reader Information
   Kimberly Fehrt                      Design Support Group
   National Semiconductor              [phone]
   [phone]                      World Wide Web
                 http://www.national.com/

DATASOURCE: National Semiconductor



CONTACT:  Kimberly Fehrt of National Semiconductor, [phone] or

; or Reader Information, Design Support Group

[phone]



Web site:  http://www.national.com/ 

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