CSR Partners with Callpod(R) for Bluetooth(R) Conferencing Technology.CAMBRIDGE, England -- CSR plc CSR (LSE: CSR), or Cambridge Silicon Radio is a company based in Cambridge, England whose main product line is a single-chip implementation of the Bluetooth standard for radio-signal communication between devices. CSR is a fabless semiconductor manufacturer. (LSE LSE - Language Sensitive Editor :CSR (1) (Customer Service Representative) A person who handles a customer's request regarding a bill, account changes or service or merchandise ordered. Agents in call centers are known as CSRs. See call center. ) -- Ref: EMD EMD Electromechanical dissociation, see there 1090 -- Photo ref: PEM (Privacy Enhanced Mail) A standard for secure e-mail on the Internet. It supports encryption, digital signatures and digital certificates as well as both private and public key methods. Not widely used, work on PEM later evolved into S/MIME. See MIME. 4626 -- To download: http://www.csr.com/images/hires/pem4626.jpg CSR plc today announced that Callpod's scalable-patented reference design uses multiple BlueCore4 chips to enable several Bluetooth-enabled headsets to connect to a single mobile conference call device. Available as a standalone mobile accessory unit, Callpod is also developing an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) Pronounced "a-sick." A chip that is custom designed for a specific application rather than a general-purpose chip such as a microprocessor. (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (hardware) Application-Specific Integrated Circuit - (ASIC) An integrated circuit designed to perform a particular function by defining the interconnection of a set of basic circuit building blocks drawn from a library provided by the circuit manufacturer. ) to allow its technology to be directly embedded into any device. By taking advantage of CSR's expertise in wireless systems design, Callpod can offer its customers market-leading Bluetooth technology with data transfer rates of 3 Mbps, low power consumption and industry-leading interoperability. Callpod Technology is an audio sharing platform designed for mobile handsets, PDAs, MP3 players and notebook computers that allow multiple users, connecting with Bluetooth-enabled headsets, to conduct conference calls or simply share mobile content anywhere. Callpod's proprietary design and firmware allows CSR's BlueCore4 chips to process multiple audio streams, enabling up to five Bluetooth headsets to pair with a Callpod enabled device. Callpod users can then take part simultaneously in a full-duplex conference call as well as listening to streaming audio from a Bluetooth-enabled MP3 device. Callpod technology is also Skype compatible, and enables group-to-group calling for the traditionally peer-to-peer VoIP service. Designed specifically for consumer applications such as digital cameras, PDAs, handsets and MP3 players, BlueCore4 is a single-chip Bluetooth radio and baseband IC that achieves data transfer rates of up to three-times faster than v1.2 Bluetooth devices and thus lower power consumption as the radio is active for shorter bursts. The devices also offers full backwards compatibility with existing Bluetooth v1.1 and v1.2 products, meaning that devices using CSR technology can easily interoperate with a full range of Bluetooth headsets. BlueCore4 also incorporates auto-calibration and built-in self-test (BIST BIST - Built-in Self Test ) routines to simplify development, type approval and production tests. Mark Buckingham, VP of Sales and Marketing for Callpod commented, "No other technology like this exists today. Callpod offers device manufacturers the opportunity to provide the most advanced and innovative mobile audio content sharing solution on the market. By combining Callpod technology with CSR's leading Bluetooth silicon and software, manufacturers can design a complete Bluetooth conferencing device in the shortest possible time while minimising costs." Mark added, "CSR's support and expertise have been instrumental and we're confident that customers using our reference design will be using the very best solution on the market." Karen Parnell, Consumer Marketing Manager for CSR, commented, "Callpod technology opens up many new and exciting opportunities. It's another example of the powerful applications Bluetooth brings to the market. Callpod wanted to offer device manufacturers a complete reference design that focused on the most advanced technology and highest quality of voice and audio communication. Callpod approached CSR in order to integrate Bluetooth v2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) An acronym occasionally used to reflect an advancement in transmission or transfer speed. For example, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR provides a dramatic increase in speed over the previous version. See Bluetooth. silicon and software with its conferencing technology." Parnell, added, "CSR's leading wireless and voice streaming technology was the perfect partner for Callpod with the two companies producing a reference design that can be easily integrated into handsets, PDAs, music players and other consumer devices without time, cost or design constraints." About CSR CSR plc is the leading global provider of Bluetooth technology and has developed expertise in other single-chip wireless communication standards such as Wi-Fi (IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York, www.ieee.org) A membership organization that includes engineers, scientists and students in electronics and allied fields. 802.11). CSR offers developed hardware/software solutions for Bluetooth based around BlueCore, a fully integrated 2.4 GHz radio, baseband and microcontroller. CSR has now launched its fifth generation BlueCore suite and is in volume manufacture of its fourth generation BlueCore devices. BlueCore4 supports the Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) standard which was ratified at the end of 2004. In November 2004 CSR launched UniFi, the first single chip 802.11a/b/g embedded solution specifically targeting the mobile phone and consumer electronics markets. BlueCore features in over 50 per cent of all Bluetooth devices shipped and over 60 per cent of all qualified Bluetooth enabled products and modules listed on the Bluetooth website with industry leaders including Nokia, Dell, Panasonic, Sharp, Motorola, IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) , Apple, NEC (NEC Corporation, Tokyo, www.nec.com, www.necus.com) An electronics conglomerate known in the U.S. for its monitors. In Japan, it had the lion's share of the PC market until the late 1990s (see PC 98). NEC was founded in Tokyo in 1899 as Nippon Electric Company, Ltd. , Toshiba, RIM and Sony using BlueCore devices in their range of Bluetooth products. In March 2005, CSR acquired Clarity Technologies Inc., for its Clear Voice Capture (CVC See CSC. ) technology that enhances the audio performance of any voice-based product or system. Applications for CVC include wireless headsets, handsets and automotive hands free systems. In August 2005, CSR completed the acquisition of UbiNetics' software business, providing a strong R&D team to accelerate its existing software development in Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and UWB (Ultra-WideBand) A wireless technology that uses less power and provides higher speed than 802.11 Wi-Fi networks or first-generation Bluetooth products. UWB is expected to provide wireless video transmission for home theater systems, cable TV, auto safety and . The UbiNetics team gives CSR the capacity to extend its offering to mobile handset customers. CSR has its headquarters and offices in Cambridge, UK, and offices in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, India, France, Denmark, Sweden and both Texas and Detroit in the USA. More information can be found at www.csr.com and the partner web site www.btdesigner.com More information about Bluetooth technology can be found on the SIG web site at www.bluetooth.com |
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