CSR backs WiMedia Alliance for UWB Bluetooth technology.

CAMBRIDGE, England -- Ref: EMD1010

CSR plc (LSE:CSR) today announced that the company is aligning with the WiMedia Alliance and will use their technology to develop Ultra Wideband (UWB) with Bluetooth products. CSR's choice of Ultra Wide Bluetooth is based upon the clear advantages of the WiMedia Alliance. The integration of UWB into the Bluetooth architecture will enable future Bluetooth devices to share information at much higher data transfer speeds with even lower power consumption.

James Collier, CTO of CSR commented that, "UWB is the next logical step for Bluetooth development. The decision to work with the WiMedia Alliance is based on end-user experience and that is where WiMedia excels. Designers want to integrate the very latest technologies into their devices and the most important design issues they face are co-existence and interoperability." Collier added, "The ability of CSR's technologies to optimise interoperability across devices and proven coexistence with GSM, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth technologies, will continue to be the key to CSR's solutions."

The integration with the Bluetooth architecture will provide the WiMedia technology with quick access to the market and to hundreds of millions of Bluetooth enabled devices that are currently used. Tom Siep, CSR Global Standards (WiMedia) remarked, "The combination of UWB and Bluetooth technologies offers the market-place a single solution which will add value to handsets and portable consumer electronic devices. The use of proven interoperable Bluetooth profiles running over a WiMedia high speed radio will enable high speed data transfers with the proven low power capabilities of Bluetooth."

CSR has a proven track record of drawing a technology roadmap that translates into products that create success for both CSR and its customers. Many of CSR's technological steps have since been adopted by the wider industry: CSR first demonstrated that RF could be implemented in a CMOS process and subsequently demonstrated the clear advantages of embedding all of the Bluetooth system into a single-chip. The company also demonstrated with its BlueCore3-Multimedia products, that an embedded DSP architecture brings performance and power enhancements. CSR's launch of UniFi marked the world's first multiband 802.11 a,b,g single-chip product for portable, embedded devices and reaffirms CSR's position as a leading innovator and technology partner in the wireless space.

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 (IEEE802.11). 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. BlueCore4 remains the only EDR silicon to be shipping in volume today. 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, Apple, NEC, 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) 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. 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