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Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector (SPS) and SiRF Agree to Develop New Location-Aware Chipsets
-- SiRF's GPS Baseband and RF Core Technology to be
Integrated into Motorola Location-Enabled Chipsets for Wireless and Mobile Devices
SAN JOSE, Calif. and PHOENIX, Dec 2, 2002 - SiRF Technology, Inc. and Motorola's (NYSE:
MOT) Semiconductor Products Sector (SPS), the world's largest producer of embedded processors and a leading supplier into the mobile
phone market, have announced an agreement to integrate SiRF's market-leading SiRFstarII Global Positioning System (GPS) core technology
with Motorola wireless baseband and applications processors to location-enable a line of Motorola's SPS chipsets for mobile devices. This is
SiRF's third announced agreement* with Motorola.
Motorola plans to incorporate SiRF's advanced GPS technology into a line of location-aware wireless baseband and applications processor
chipsets that will broaden the market for devices used for location-based services. The chipsets will utilize SiRF's SiRFstarII GPS baseband
and RF IC core technology.
Motorola intends to implement an enhanced version of SiRF's RF IC technology using the Silicon Germanium:Carbon module of its advanced
RF BiCMOS wafer process. The planned GPS receiver will incorporate Motorola IP enhancements for a higher level of integration with
additional features for cell phone applications.
Mobile devices using these chipsets can take advantage of SiRFLoc(TM) multimode location technology to meet the market needs for
location-based services, as well as to address accuracy and availability requirements contained in the United States' FCC Enhanced 911
(E-911) mandate for wireless carriers. SiRFLoc multimode technology is being used by Nextel for E-911 emergency location and
location-based services.
SiRF and Motorola plan to develop and jointly market a series of wireless/GPS chipsets for use in the GSM, GPRS and 3G cellular markets, as
well as for PDAs. The companies are already developing joint reference designs for next-generation handsets using existing SiRF GPS and
Motorola wireless chipsets for customers needing speedy market entry. The first anticipated jointly-developed chip from this agreement is
expected to be a GPS RF receiver IC, which will interface to an embedded GPS baseband processor in Motorola cellular platforms or to a
SiRF baseband processor. Currently in the sampling stage, these products are expected to be available from SPS beginning in the second
quarter of 2003.
"SiRF was founded with the intent of developing location technology that could be used in a wide range of consumer devices," says Kanwar
Chadha, vice-president of business development and founder of SiRF Technology. "SiRF's location technology combined with Motorola's
semiconductor technology and worldwide presence is a major step towards that objective. We believe that the products that result from this
agreement will bring the level of integration, cost and performance needed to accelerate the mainstream market acceptance of location
technology in markets like wireless handsets and PDAs."
"Motorola's strong presence in the wireless semiconductor market has solidified with the recent success of our leadership Innovative
Convergence(TM) cellular platforms," said Behrooz Abdi, vice president and general manager of Motorola's Radio Products Division. "Now
customers look to us to provide them with complete radio solutions, including enhanced features such as location information and wireless
connectivity. This agreement with SiRF will help round out our portfolio in several of our target markets. SiRF's leadership in the GPS market
makes it an excellent Motorola partner. Our combined strong technical roadmap is expected to enable us to meet the needs for future
generations of location-aware products from SPS."
SiRFLoc Multimode GPS
The SiRF IC technology licensed to SPS can take advantage of SiRF's advanced SiRFLoc multimode high-sensitivity location technology, the
standard for robust and accurate location awareness. Unlike first-generation A-GPS systems, multimode location technology does not need to
rely entirely on network assistance to determine location, even in areas where location awareness was previously unfeasible -- such as densely
wooded areas, urban canyons or even some indoor environments. Optimized for the next generation of location-based services, the SiRFLoc
multimode technology provides dynamic navigation as opposed to the point positioning provided by traditional A-GPS architectures.
About Motorola
As the world's #1 producer of embedded processors, Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector creates DigitalDNA(TM) system-on-chip
solutions for a connected world. Our strong focus on wireless communications and networking enables customers to develop smarter, simpler,
safer and synchronized products for the person, work team, home and automobile. Motorola's worldwide semiconductor sales were $4.9 billion
(USD) in 2001. www.motorola.com/semiconductors
Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) is a global leader in providing integrated communications solutions and embedded electronic solutions. Sales in
2001 were $30 billion. For more information, please visit: www.motorola.com/
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. They have been
integrated into mobile consumer devices, such as automobile navigation systems, cellular phones, GPS-based mobile computing peripherals and
handheld GPS 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, mobile computing and embedded consumer applications.
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