SiRF Launches New Architecture to Significantly Shrink GPS for Mobile Phones
Written by SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc.
Wednesday, 08 February 2006
Compact Size Makes GSCi-5000 Optimal for High Volume Handsets
SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 7 -- SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRF) , a leading provider of GPS-enabled silicon and premium software location platforms, today unveiled an extremely small multimode A-GPS chip, the GSCi-5000, optimized to address the space and cost constraints of cellular handsets.
"In the mobile arena today, 'thin is in'; the ultra-slender phones are jumping off the retail shelves. GSCi-5000's small foot print makes it ideal for these applications, and its low cost GPS subsystem implementation will help us expand our multimode AGPS penetration into the mid-range segment of the market," according to Kanwar Chadha, founder and vice president of marketing for SiRF. "Supported by the expertise of SiRF's global organization, we are also pleased that last year's acquisition of Motorola's GPS division has led to the development of this innovative offering."
In SiRF's tradition of introducing innovative location solutions optimized for target platforms, the GSCi-5000 combines many leading edge features to address the specific needs of mobile phones. The ROM based GSCi-5000 receiver packs all of the functional blocks of a GPS receiver into a tiny 4 X 6 X 1.0 mm-sized, 77 pin ball grid arrays (BGA) chip. Integrated low noise amplifier (LNA) and fractional synthesizer reduce overall system cost and size, while SiRF's proprietary patent-pending technology minimizes the impact of RF jamming and compression issues which can hinder the late stages of the handset development cycle. Overall average power consumption is minimized using a combination of self managed periodic fix modes and a 5uA sleep mode. The new architecture utilizes the 90 nanometer CMOS and 0.18 micron SiGe process technologies to achieve market leading size and cost metrics.
Using a protocol based around the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) A-GPS messages, the GSCi-5000 is optimized for easy host software integration. Supporting Mobile Station (MS)-based, MS-assisted, autonomous and multimode operation, the receiver offers the expected levels of flexibility many location based services will demand. GSCi-5000 A-GPS performance is compliant with the industry-standard 3GPP requirements, with extremely fast assisted fix speeds that are better than required by the standard in many cases.
Availability
GSCi-5000 will be demonstrated to key customers at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona in February 2006. Production availability is expected in August 2006.
About SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc.
SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc. develops and markets semiconductor and software products that are designed to enable location-awareness utilizing GPS and other location technologies, enhanced by wireless connectivity capabilities such as Bluetooth, for 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 www.sirf.com.
Mobile Technology Feature - Top 10 Business Apps for Android - Android has become one of the most popular mobile operating systems
in the world due to advanced software, competitive manufacturers, and an
app market that is filled with exciting and useful applications. Read
on for this fine Top 10 List compiled by tech writer, Blake Sanders
The Really Big List of Mapping, Geo location Mobile developer resources, APIs and Tools - The Mobile Ecosystem... no question that mobile is huge and
the opportunity for developers, in particular, geo developers! There's
loads of developer resources on the web so to help the developer,
here's a listing of just some of the fine dev resources, blogs,
toolsets and more to consider when developing or porting your app to a
smartphone or Tablet.
ArcGIS.com Mashup Tutorial with Flickr and Foursquare data-
Here's a simple "how to" tutorial on working with the free ArcGIS.com
to easily import KML or RSS data from Flickr and foursquare into ArcGIS
to create your own custom map mashup. ArcGIS.com has some recent
updates including support for KML, be sure to check it out!
Most Users of Free Photo Apps Say Adding Cool Effects is Most Useful - Adding cool effects
to photos was rated as the most useful thing by more than halfof
consumers surveyed using free online photography services, according to
CatchFree a free
online service that helps people find the best free mobile and web applications
to perform useful tasks.
Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet Up Close - No Replacement for the iPad But Pretty Darned Sweet - As could be
expected, speculation and blogging is rampant with many stories and
pseudo "reviews" coming out, many of them touting the next "iPad
killer".
Mobile Developer Resource - MapQuest & The Mobile Worker - Facility management companies, surveyors, multi-level marketing,
insurance claims, pipeline companies, water utilities; all have field
workers who would benefit from mobile applications. Not only checking in
to work sites, but keeping a record of the work done
Flickr GPS Photo Tag Tip - Here's a tip for Flickr users who want to share their GPS information
with their photos. note, in order to do this you'll need to be
capturing photos using a GPS-enabled or GPS-aware camera (see you're
smartphone hardware settings to ensure that GPS or location sharing is
turned "ON)".
Mobile data usage in Canada to triple between 2010 and 2012 - Some interesting, yet not terribly surprising, numbers on mobile
usage coming out of Canada. According to a report summarized on
Techvibes, mobile usage is soaring, in particular, the smartphone
segment
Social Location Directory
Do you have a location-aware application, social location service or other location-sensitive service that you'd like to share with us? Please browse this growing directory of Social location Services and feel free to leave a link to your favorite service! See the Directory HERE
Suggested Reading
The Underground Guide To The iPhone:
The iPhone is – if I may say so – one of the greatest mobile
revolutions of the past decade. More and more, mobile phones seem to
materialize out of our wildest dreams. Because of the tight integration
of third-party applications, you can do nearly everything with your
device — be it gaming, working, fooling around, and of course phoning.
Good Mobile Messaging: Executives and professional field forces spend an increasing amount of time on the road tending to business.
Mobile Apps - Native or Web?:
You probably have a plan to build a mobile app, but you've struggled
with the basic question - Should I build it using open web standards
such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, or should I build it as a native app
for the devices I want to target?
iBike Coach App- a new “Always On” feature always gathers data
Nike+ GPS App- for sports tracking, recording and sharing
Featured Events
Content & Apps for Automotive Europe 2012 (18-19 April, Germany)
will give you key insights on how in-vehicle connectivity is being
revolutionised as OEMs integrate dynamic content to stay relevant
throughout the vehicle life cycle.
Location Intelligence for Enterprise - Europe 2012, January 16-17, London Hear from Google, Jones Lang LaSalle, Tesco, Willis, Oracle,
ESRI, Microsoft, PBBI and many more as they debate the best strategies
for business models and integration.
Consumer Telematics Show 2012 (Jan 9, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, USA) is the most prestigious and
dynamic consumer telematics focused meeting for the automotive industry.
Held in Las Vegas on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES),
this year's senior-level speakers will include General Motors, Audi,
Toyota, Panasonic, Continental, Hughes Telematics, Gartner, KIA,
Mercedes-Benz and many more
Esri Dev Summit - The
Esri Developer Summit (DevSummit) brings together developers and GIS
professionals from all over the globe. March 26-29, 2012, Palm Springs,
CA
