CSR's Chip Sets New Standards for Cost, Features and Flexibility; Latest Third Generation Bluetooth Silicon Targets the PC Market and Others That Require Upgradeable Solutions.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

Bluetooth Developers Conference 2003

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 9, 2003

CSR (Cambridge Silicon Radio), a market leader in Bluetooth(R) silicon, today launched its latest product in the CSR BlueCore3(TM) range. BlueCore3(TM)-External is a flexible configuration that supports all optional features, including full extended-SCO or eSCO (an improved audio quality feature), and all mandatory features of the recently adopted Bluetooth version 1.2 specification, in a single-chip Bluetooth solution. Samples of BlueCore3-External are available now and production quantities are expected to be available in Q2 2004.

BlueCore3-External follows on from the success of BlueCore2(TM)-External. Both devices use external Flash memory, which is an inexpensive way of enabling full firmware upgradeability. In the same way that BlueCore2-External was released as a Bluetooth version 1.1 device, but can be firmware upgraded to version 1.2, so BlueCore3-External will be released against version 1.2 of the specification, but is designed to be upgradeable to future versions.

PCs are one of the largest markets to demand upgradeability. David McCall, Senior Product Consultant, CSR, commented "PC customers demand not only compatibility with the latest specifications but also the ability to upgrade and stay up to date as specifications evolve."

The entire architecture of BlueCore3-External has been designed to provide flexibility for future upgrades. To support upgrades, CSR's proven Device Firmware Upgrade (DFU) technology provides a simple and secure method for OEMs to roll out firmware updates to their customers.

BlueCore3-External radio includes the ability to transmit and receive Phase Shift Keyed modulation as is proposed for future versions of the Bluetooth specification. Additionally, BlueCore3-External contains additional RAM compared to BlueCore2-External. The extra memory enables complex scatternet configurations, allowing BlueCore3-External to connect with many devices at the same time, together with longer data buffers to allow higher data transfer rates for new features in future versions of the specification.

McCall continued, "PCs are a demanding environment for Bluetooth. They may be connected to many devices at the same time: from mice and keyboards to stereo headphones, from printers to PDAs and phones. The PC also requires co-existence with IEEE 802.11b/g and Bluetooth technology on the same device."

BlueCore3-External includes refinements to CSR's already successful Bluetooth / 802.11b/g co-existence scheme to further reduce the effects of interference between the two technologies when communicating with version 1.1 devices. The scheme has been optimized for a wide variety of applications and WLAN chipsets depending on customer preferences, and is designed to complement the Bluetooth SIG's Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH) co-existence mechanism, which is used when communicating with other version 1.2 compliant devices.

As the third device in the BlueCore3 family, BlueCore3-External complements BlueCore3(TM)-ROM, which has an on-board mono audio CODEC and uses non-upgradeable ROM memory, and BlueCore3(TM)-Multimedia, which has an on-board stereo CODEC and full DSP: many applications such as those for PCs do not require on-board CODECs or DSP functionality.

McCall stated, "CSR's customers have overwhelmingly supported BlueCore2-External and have had great success in using it to implement a vast array of Bluetooth devices, from PCs and Access Points to Industrial applications." McCall continued, "The introduction of BlueCore3-External promises the same flexibility for customers. It provides excellent performance today and the ability to upgrade for future compatibility."

About CSR

CSR (Cambridge Silicon Radio) is a leading provider of single-chip radio devices for Bluetooth wireless communication. CSR offers developed hardware/software packages based around BlueCore, a fully integrated 2.4 GHz radio, baseband and microcontroller. BlueCore features in 60 percent of all qualified Bluetooth v1.1 enabled product designs (including end products and modules) with international names such as Microsoft Corp, Dell, Panasonic, Audi, NEC, Toshiba, Samsung and Sony already using BlueCore in their range of Bluetooth products. In June 2003, CSR launched the third generation BlueCore devices with full support for v1.2 of the Bluetooth specification.

CSR is headquartered in Cambridge, UK, with offices in Richardson, Texas, USA; Tokyo, Japan; Singapore; Seoul, Korea; Taipei, Taiwan and Aalborg, Denmark.

More information can be found at www.csr.com and the partner web site www.btdesigner.com

More information about Bluetooth can be found on the SIG web site at www.bluetooth.com