KARLSBAD, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HARMAN, the premium global audio and infotainment group (NYSE:HAR), announced today that it has developed an In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) Computing Module for the Automotive Industry in close collaboration with chip maker Intel. The Industry-leading second generation computing module combines HARMAN’s automotive design expertise with the energy-efficient Intel^® Atom™ processor. This marks the first time an IVI Computing Module has been developed especially for the Automotive Industry, continuing HARMAN’s leadership in contributing to industry standards.

The need for the automotive industry to move toward open platforms and standards at all levels is growing quickly. Harman is addressing this need with the development of the IVI Computing Module (ICM). The module is based on the Intel® Atom™ processor E6xx series (formerly codenamed Tunnel Creek) that is being shown at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco. It provides greater compatibility over several generations of infotainment systems.

“We are pleased to work with Intel and to announce a further major milestone in HARMAN’s commitment to enable open infotainment platforms for the automotive industry,” said Sachin Lawande, HARMAN Chief Technology Officer and Co-President, Automotive. “The new Intel® Atom™ processor-based solution will provide higher flexibility, lower material costs and better performance-density, setting a clear standard for future platform developments”.

“Standards-based platforms will save development costs and improve time-to-market for infotainment designs,” said Ton Steenman, Vice President, Intel Architecture Group and General Manager, Low-Power Embedded Products Division. “The IVI Compute Module combined with the Intel® Atom™ processor will help the automotive industry more easily implement a standards approach and ultimately increase their pace of innovation.”

The module enables infotainment system scaling from Mid to High-End functionality with the same connector footprint – reducing development efforts. It also allows customizing the module to meet the specific functionality requirements of each customer. The connector and pin-out definition will be capable of supporting future generations of processors, providing additional scalability and the ability to utilize the latest technologies with no fundamental changes to the carrier board, head unit architecture or form factor.

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets – supported by 15 leading brands including AKG^®, Harman Kardon^®, Infinity^®, JBL^®, Lexicon^® and Mark Levinson^®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 20 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 11,000 people across Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported sales of $3.4 billion for fiscal year ended June 30, 2010. The Company`s shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE: HAR.

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AKG, Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon, Mark Levinson and Logic 7 are trademarks of Harman International Industries, Inc., registered in the United States and/or other countries. Intel and Intel Atom are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.