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Hitachi's MultiMediaCardTM*1,2 Products Are First in the Industry to Pass the MultiMediaCard Association's Compliance Tests for System Specification Version 3.1

—The memory cards are fully compliant with industry standards, ensuring cross-platform compatibility with host systems designed to the MultiMediaCard Association specifications—

High-Speed MultiMediaCardTM Series (With MMCA's Compliance Logo) Tokyo, August 6, 2002— Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501) today announced that its second-generation MultiMediaCard memory cards, including the popular 16-, 32-, 64- and 128-megabyte (MB) versions, have successfully passed compliance tests prescribed by the MultiMediaCard Association (MMCA). The Hitachi HB28xxxxMM2 series cards are the first devices to gain compliance certification for specification version 3.1 from the industry standards body. By gaining compliance certification by the MMCA, every Hitachi HB28xxxxMM2 series MultiMediaCard is eligible to carry the MMCA compliance logo, a unique "seal of approval" for the highest assurance of compatibility for the consumers. According to Masaki Sato, Manager , Memory Marketing Dept., Memory Business Unit, Semiconductor & Integrated Circuits at Hitachi, Ltd., "The compliance tests ensure cross-platform compatibility of hosts designed to the MMCA specifications. System users can plug Hitachi's small, rugged HB28xxxxMM2 series cards into any properly designed system to get safe, convenient digital archiving and data exchange. Beyond that, system manufacturers can use the MultiMediaCard devices to validate compatibility of their memory expansion slots to the MMCA specifications." "The MMCA has worked long and hard to establish the compliance standard and we now believe host platform manufacturers will greatly benefit from uniform testing. Hitachi along with other card manufacturers will establish new levels of interoperability," said Andy Prophet, Executive Director of the MultiMediaCard Association. The high-speed 2nd generation MultiMediaCards, developed and manufactured by Hitachi, offer very fast sustained rewrite speeds: as high as 1.6 megabytes per second. They can store digital data -- image files for digital still cameras, music files for MP-3 players, and program/data files for other products -- approximately up to six times faster than first-generation MultiMediaCards of equal capacity. The HB28xxxxMM2 series MultiMediaCards are available now in volume. To enhance this product series, Hitachi plans to develop higher density MultiMediaCards such as 256Mbytes and low voltage devices in the coming years. <About MultiMediaCards> MultiMediaCards are popular, small form factor (24mm × 32mm × 1.4 mm), removable solid-state memory solutions for mobile applications such as MP-3 music players, portable video games, laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile telephones and digital cameras. These convenient, reliable, rugged and lightweight standardized data carriers store up to 128 Mbytes, sufficient for 120 minutes of MP-3 digital music, or approximately 80,000 book pages. MultiMediaCards use ROM technology for read-only applications and Flash technology for read/write applications. The cards are fast for excellent system performance; energy efficient for prolonged battery life in portable products; and cost-efficient for use in systems sold at consumer price points. They also have an easy-to-install serial interface. <About the MultiMediaCard Association (MMCA)> The MultiMediaCard Association was founded in 1998, with 14 companies, to promote the worldwide adoption of a postage-stamp size, removable storage standard for storing and retrieving digital information in small, low power devices. The organization has grown rapidly and now has 100 members worldwide, representing all branches of mobile electronic applications, including semiconductor suppliers, software vendors and manufacturers of products such as music players, mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), digital cameras, voice recorders, GPS navigation devices, bar code scanners and more. The MMCA developed and regulates open industry standards that define all types of MultiMediaCards, ensuring full interchangeability between the cards produced by all MMCA members. MultiMediaCards offer an unmatched array of features and benefits, and are becoming the industry standard for compact removable storage media across multiple host platforms and markets. MMCA headquarters are located at P.O. Box 2012, Cupertino, CA 95015-2012. More information is at the web site: www.mmca.org. Company/product names mentioned may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and are used for identification purpose only. Note: 1. MultiMediaCard is a trademark of Infineon Technologies AG, Germany, and is licensed to MMCA (MultiMediaCard Association). Hitachi is an MMCA Board Member. http://www.mmca.org/ 2. The term MultiMediaCards is always spelled out as one string, with the MM and C in caps. The MultiMediaCard Association may be abbreviated MMCA. Also, please refer to card slots that support MultiMediaCards and SD Cards as "expansion slots" or "card slots" not SD Card slots.

WRITTEN BY Corporate Communications Division