Jan 16 2004

O’Neill Europe - a leading provider of high-quality sportswear and sports gear - today unveiled the result of a joint product development project: their first ‘wearable electronics’-product with Bluetooth.

Based on O’Neill’s specifications, Infineon has developed a chip module suitable for integration into a pioneering snowboard jacket.

Adapted to withstand raw snowboarding environments, functions such as “mobile telephony by Bluetooth” and “MP3 player” are integrated into the sportswear. The outstanding innovation from O’Neill’s 2004/05 winter collection for the technologically clued-in snowboarder is named “THE HUB”.

“With the product just launched, the groundwork preparatory to full integration of electronic functions in clothing is starting to bear fruit,” said Dieter May, responsible for strategy and emerging businesses at Infineon. “With the first market-ready product to use our technology for integrating electronic functions in clothing, we are again underlining our aim to be the leading solutions provider among semiconductor companies. This basic technology opens up new markets and sales channels for us. Our aim is to expand these significantly starting from our leading position.”

Woven into THE HUB snowboard jacket are electrically conductive fabric tracks which connect the chip module to a fabric keyboard and built-in speakers in the helmet.

The chip module contains a full-featured MP3 player and a Bluetooth module via which the snowboarder can control a mobile phone. If the snowboarder wants to make a phone call, the stereo system acts as the headset. The microphone is integrated in the collar of the jacket.

Recent studies by the Venture Development Corporation predict worldwide sales worth over 1 billion euros for the “intelligent textile materials” market by 2007. Since presenting its technology Infineon has discussed firm projects with more than 200 companies from the textile industry. In cooperation with the Vorwerk Teppichwerke carpet plant in Hameln, Germany, Infineon is currently working on an initial prototype of a “smart carpet”.

About Infineon

Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions for the automotive and industrial sectors, for applications in the wired communications markets, secure mobile solutions as well as memory products. With a global presence, Infineon operates in the US from San Jose, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore and in Japan from Tokyo. In the fiscal year 2003 (ending September), the company achieved sales of Euro 6.15 billion with about 32,300 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the DAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX). Further information is available at www.infineon.com.