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SAN JOSE, Calif., July 14 - SiRF Technology, Inc., a leading supplier of GPS-enabled location technology, announced today that it has been granted U.S. Patent No. 6,915,208 entitled "Information Transfer in a Multi-mode Global Positioning System for Use with Wireless Networks." The newly minted patent further enhances SiRF's portfolio of inventions in multi-mode A-GPS (assisted-GPS) technology.
Multi-mode A-GPS technology enabled location-based services (LBS) are designed to allow applications to "shift gears" between several network-aided and autonomous positioning modes for greater location and navigation accuracy, and to control network loading to achieve greater operational efficiency.
In addition to U.S. Patent No. 6,915,208, SiRF has other patents protecting its inventions in multi-mode A-GPS, including U.S. Patent Nos. 6,389,291; 6,427,120; 6,519,466; 6,542,823; and 6,684,158. More SiRF multi-mode A-GPS patents are pending. This latest patent granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office brings to over 125 the total number of global patents owned by SiRF, representing one of the largest patent portfolios in GPS technology in the hands of a single company.
SiRF's patents cover many of its inventions in essential GPS components and systems, core GPS receiver architectures for fast and deep signal acquisition and tracking, high-sensitivity signal detection algorithms, network aiding, and multi-mode A-GPS, among other innovations. For example, SiRF also owns patents covering inventions in GPS aiding (U.S. Pat. No. 5,663,735), GPS memory sharing (U.S. Pat. No. 6,526,322), and GPS core receiver technology (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,297,771 and 6,496,145).
"SiRF has long recognized the importance of patents to its business and is proud to have grown the patent portfolio to over 125 patents," said Nicolas S. Gikkas, chief intellectual property counsel for SiRF. "We are fortunate to have on our team so many creative and talented engineers and scientists who can conceive of these inventions. In addition to our homegrown patents, we have acquired some very important patents as part of our acquisitions of various businesses and product lines. A strong portfolio of intellectual property is central to our strategy of maintaining and protecting our cutting-edge advances in location technology."
Patented SiRFstar(R) chipsets and SiRFLoc(TM) software are currently being used in handsets by cellular phone manufacturers and wireless carriers to meet the Enhanced 911 mandate set forth by the Federal Communications Commission. Patented Multi-mode Location Engine(TM) software is used in servers by infrastructure suppliers to enhance the speed and accuracy of getting a location fix or to navigate. SiRF's patented multi-mode A-GPS technology also allows for the successful implementation of revenue-generating location based services (LBS), where consumers can benefit from services taking advantage of accurate location information.
"SiRF's innovations enable our customers and operators to launch revenue enhancing products and services in the location based services markets," said Kanwar Chadha, founder and vice president of marketing for SiRF. "With our multi-mode A-GPS patents, we believe that SiRF is positioned in the marketplace as a preferred location technology provider for the mass market LBS."
In addition to its portfolio of granted patents, SiRF has well over 200 patent applications pending in patent offices worldwide. About SiRF Technology, Inc.
SiRF Technology, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc. that develops and markets semiconductor and software products that are designed to enable location-awareness utilizing GPS and other location technologies in high-volume mobile consumer devices and commercial applications. SiRF's technology has been integrated into mobile consumer devices such as automobile navigation systems, mobile phones, PDAs, GPS-based peripherals and handheld GPS navigation devices, and into commercial applications such as location servers, asset tracking devices and fleet management systems. SiRF markets and sells its products in four target platforms: automotive, consumer electronics, mobile computing, and wireless devices. Founded in 1995, SiRF is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., and has sales offices, design centers and research facilities around the world. The company trades on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange under the symbol SIRF. Additional information about SiRF and its Location Technology solutions can be found at http://www.sirf.com/.
Forward-Looking Statements:
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the impact of our patent portfolio, including U.S. Patent No. 6,915,208, on our portfolio of inventions in multi-mode A-GPS technology and our strategy of maintaining and protecting our cutting-edge advances in location technology, the features and benefits of multi-mode A-GPS technology enabled location-based services (LBS) and of our patented multi-mode A-GPS technology and our belief regarding our market position as a preferred location technology provider for the mass market LBS, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "enhances", "designed to", "allow", "can", "enable", "believe", "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward- looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. SiRF's actual results could differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements as a result of risks and uncertainties, including, among others, the market for GPS-based location awareness capabilities, our ability to keep pace with rapid technological change, the semiconductor industry, international operations, our ability to compete, and our ability to protect our intellectual property, including our patents and other proprietary rights, and other risks and uncertainties discussed in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2005 and from time to time in SiRF's SEC reports. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. We do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements. NOTE: SiRF, SiRFstar, and the SiRF orbit design are registered trademarks of SiRF Technology, Inc. SiRFLoc and Multimode Location Engine are trademarks of SiRF Technology, Inc. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. SiRF Technology, Inc.
CONTACT: Lori Evans of Evans Public Relations, +1-650-312-8344, ormobile, +1-650-200-5891, or , for SiRF TechnologyHoldings, Inc.; or Rebecca DiCorti of SiRF Technology, Inc., +1-408-392-8422,or
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