SiRF Powers World's First Family of GPS-Enabled Dual-Band GSM Phones; SiRFstar GPS Architecture At the Heart of New Ground-Breaking Cell Phones From Wireless Innovator -- Benefon.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers SAN JOSE San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 30, 2001 SiRF Technology, Inc., a leading developer of global positioning system Global Positioning System: see navigation satellite. Global Positioning System (GPS) Precise satellite-based navigation and location system originally developed for U.S. military use. (GPS)-enabled location technology, and Benefon, a leader in innovative wireless communication instruments, today announced that SiRF's GPS technology is behind the world's first GPS-enabled dual-band GSM 900/1800 cellular phones from Benefon. The new Benefon Esc! and Track cell phones leverage SiRF's proven SiRFstar(TM) GPS architecture to offer, for the first time, advanced location awareness Location awareness, or more commonly "location-aware", is a general term used for something that can show that it is aware of your current location. An example is a GPS. There are also certain websites that use user locations, such as show what other users live nearby the current and personal navigation capabilities in phones that use the worldwide digital cellular network standard, GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications (communications) Global System for Mobile Communications - (GSM, originally "Groupe de travail Sp?ciale pour les services Mobiles") One of the major standards for digital cellular communications, in use in over 60 countries and serving over one billion subscribers. ). With support for the open Mobile Phone Telematics Protocol (MPTP MPTP 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine, analogs MTMP, PEPAP Neurology A potent neurotoxin–which has an effect much like Meperidine or Demerol—that acts on neuromelanin, producing parkinsonism Clinical Bradykinesia, muscular rigidity, resting ), these phones will enable carriers and service providers to offer a range of location-enhanced services like geo-messaging, location-aware communities, sports, healthcare, safety, security, fleet and staff management and location-enhanced yellow pages and advertising. The SiRFstar architecture, integrated in a very compact package by u-blox ag (Thalwil, Switzerland), enables a complete GPS-based location intelligence solution delivering high performance to both Benefon Esc!, a cellular phone with mapping and personal navigation capabilities, and Benefon Track, a telematics phone for professional use. With the integration of SiRFstar GPS technology into its advanced, dual-band GSM mobile phones, Benefon is providing both consumer and professional platforms with state-of-the-art location awareness to its customers. "Our partnership with Benefon represents another huge step in bringing GPS technology to the mainstream consumer and commercial markets," said Kanwar Chadha, founder and vice president of SiRF Technology, Inc. "The sleek and stylish Benefon phones discreetly provide sophisticated and feature-rich location awareness for everyday use, which can greatly enhance the productivity, safety and recreational rewards of cell phone usage. Benefon has been a pioneer in mobile phone technology and the Esc! and Track devices demonstrate the company's continued commitment to innovation." "SiRF is a natural partner for us because we require a GPS architecture that is both extremely high performance, but also compact and flexible, to meet the needs of the Esc! and Track designs," said Jani Jarvinen, business unit manager of Benefon Wireless Solutions. "SiRFstar technology is extremely accurate, has a very small footprint, and we believe that with SiRF we have a technology advantage that will help Esc! and Track become the most popular location phones on the market." SiRFstar Ideal for Consumer Devices The SiRFstar GPS architecture offers a range of product choices enabling complete GPS functionality that is high performance, yet with a very small footprint, making it an ideal technology for integration into compact consumer devices such as cell phones. With its unique set of features such as SnapStart(TM) for quick start-up, SnapLock(TM) for fast acquisition and FoliageLock(TM) for high sensitivity, the SiRFstar architecture based products provide enhanced GPS-based location information in urban canyons An urban canyon is an artifact of an urban environment similar to a natural canyon. It is caused by streets cutting through dense blocks of structures, especially skyscrapers. An example of an urban canyon is the Magnificent Mile in Chicago. and dense foliage -- where traditional GPS architectures have significant problems. Another SiRFstar feature is TricklePower(TM) for power management, which enables longer battery life for portable devices. SiRF is also developing a set of technologies to facilitate and optimize GPS integration into specific platforms, such as automobiles, cell phones and personal digital assistants. Benefon Esc! GPS Phone A GPS Phone is a mobile phone with an integrated GPS system which can be used for traveling and tracking purposes. These devices usually include built-in maps and turn-by-turn direction software. Electronic "Survival Pack" Featuring electronic maps, a GPS navigator, a personal organizer and an advanced dual-band GSM phone, the Benefon Esc! personal navigation phone is designed to be a complete "survival pack" for people on the move. To utilize the state-of-the art twelve-channel GPS navigator, Benefon Esc! comes complete with the Genimap mobile map service, which provides customers with a selection of free maps, including road maps, city maps, topographical maps See under Cadastral. - Topographical surveying. See under Surveying. See also: Topographic and nautical charts See: hydrographic chart. from around Europe. The GPS-enabled Benefon Esc! also includes FriendFind, an exclusive feature that can locate friends using Benefon Esc!, and guides the user to their friends. The phone also has an emergency button, sending an SOS SOS, code letters of the international distress signal. The signal is expressed in International Morse code as … — — — … (three dots, three dashes, three dots). message with user's location. Benefon Esc! is also designed and engineered for the great outdoors. It is splash and shock resistant, with stainless steel stainless steel: see steel. stainless steel Any of a family of alloy steels usually containing 10–30% chromium. The presence of chromium, together with low carbon content, gives remarkable resistance to corrosion and heat. reinforced casing. Benefon Track GPS Phone for Telematics and Value-Added Services A value-added service (VAS) is a telecommunications industry term for non-core services or, in short, all services beyond standard voice calls and fax transmissions. The Benefon Track is a professional dual-band GSM phone with a built-in GPS receiver designed for various telematic applications. With MPTP support and BeneGuard, a unique, easily programmable multifunction button, the Benefon Track can be configured for several different purposes, from an easy-to-use safety device to a mobile unit for resource management applications by linking to a server application like an emergency center or resource management system. Benefon Track is a fully functional phone designed for mobile professionals with features such as a built-in personal organizer, data/fax modem and clear speake phone facility and an in water and shock-resistant case. The Benefon Esc! and Track cellular phones are now available in Europe through Benefon distributors, service providers and selected mobile phone and sporting goods Noun 1. sporting goods - sports equipment sold as a commodity commodity, trade good, good - articles of commerce sports equipment - equipment needed to participate in a particular sport outlets. About Benefon Benefon is a leader in innovative wireless communication instruments, renowned for their performance, professional quality and new Finnish design. Benefon's mission is to be the wireless instruments partner of choice for providers of specific solutions and services. Headquartered in Salo, the wireless industry center of Finland, Benefon has designed and manufactured wireless terminals for GSM and NMT (Nordic Mobile Telephone) An analog cellular phone system deployed in more than 40 countries in Europe. Launched in the Scandinavian countries in 1979, NMT was the first analog cellphone system. Both 450 MHz and 900 MHz versions are available. See cellular generations. systems since 1988. About SiRF SiRF Technology, Inc. develops and markets semiconductor and software products that are designed to enable location awareness in high-volume mobile consumer devices and commercial applications. Location awareness refers to the ability of a device to determine and make use of the information regarding its location. SiRF's products enable a range of devices to utilize GPS to detect location and have been integrated into mobile consumer devices, such as automobile navigation systems A GPS-based electronic system in a car or truck that provides a real time map of the vehicle's current location as well as step-by-step directions to a programmed destination. See GPS and vehicle tracking. , GPS-based portable computing peripherals and handheld GPS Handheld GPS use GPS Signal from a minimum of 3 overhead satellites to obtain a fix which is usually accurate to within 30m. Actual accuracy can be achieved down to 5m but due to US Military intervention accuracy is restricted. Popular brands include Garmin, Magellan Navigation. navigation devices, and into commercial applications, such as property tracking devices and fleet management systems. SiRF markets and sells its products in four target markets: wireless handheld, automotive, portable computing and embedded Inserted into. See embedded system. consumer applications. Note: SiRF's Web site is located at www.sirf.com. Note to Editors: SiRF and the SiRF logo are registered trademarks of SiRF Technology, Inc. SiRFstar, SnapLock, FoliageLock, SnapStart and TricklePower are trademarks of SiRF Technology, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. |
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