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WirelessDevNet.com Press Release
SIRF Goes Soft on GPS to Give Wireless Handhelds a Better Position
SAN JOSE, Calif.--Feb. 17, 2004--SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of GPS semiconductor and software solutions, today debuted its SiRFSoft mobile GPS software, a new approach to multimode GPS signal processing for wireless handheld devices that is designed to deliver scalable, superior positioning performance without the need for a dedicated GPS baseband integrated circuit. Compatible with major cellular standards, SiRFSoft harnesses the processing power available in application processors to greatly reduce the footprint and cost of location-enabling mobile wireless devices.
SiRFSoft GPS technology will be on display with a variety of other new SiRF offerings (see press release entitled, SiRF Breaks Key Barriers to GPS-enable Mobile Wireless Devices) at the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes, France, Feb. 23 - 26, in Hall 4, Booth K17.
Targeted at Intel XScale(R) Technology based and OMAPI compatible platforms, SiRFSoft uses flexible, high-performance GPS signal acquisition algorithms to deliver fast, coherent processing of weak GPS signals (up to -159 dBm) for robust operation, as well as fast acquisition (3-5 sec) of strong and medium-strength signals. Incorporating SiRF's proven multimode location architecture, SiRFSoft automatically adapts to utilize whatever network assistance data is available, including GSM (04.31), UMTS (25.331), CDMA (IS-801), ARIB W-CDMA and PDC, and is able to obtain fixes autonomously when no aiding is available. As a result, SiRFSoft is designed to achieve excellent location determination -- affordably.
"SiRF has taken a lead in offering the kind of software-based GPS solution that provides new opportunities for cost-effective location-based services without sacrificing performance," said Kanwar Chadha, founder and vice president of marketing for SiRF. "By eliminating the need for a separate baseband IC and the associated cost and board real estate, we believe we have essentially broken a key barrier to making GPS a standard feature for a class of mainstream mobile wireless devices."
Using SiRFSoft software on a supported platform, mobile wireless device manufacturers need only the RF section, based on SiRF's RF chip, and an antenna to implement a comprehensive GPS receiver solution.
"Intel technology is playing a key role in driving the smart phone and PDA market segment growth by enabling our customers to provide a variety of rich, new features and services," said Sam Arditi, vice president and general manager of Intel's Cellular and Handheld Group. "The SiRFSoft mobile GPS software is a major step toward making location-awareness ubiquitous in mobile devices, and clearly demonstrates the power of Intel technology to foster new and compelling applications."
SiRFSoft mobile GPS software works with the SiRFLoc Server, also announced today (editors, please see today's press release entitled, SiRF Multimode Location Server Makes LBS Smarter), as well as with any standards-compliant location server in serving mobile location centers (SMLC), position determination entities (PDE) and radio network controllers (RNC). SiRFSoft system software interfaces are compatible to SiRFstar architecture.
About SiRF Technology
SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc. 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. Location-awareness refers to the ability of a device to determine and make use of information regarding its location. 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 asset tracking devices and fleet management systems. SiRF markets and sells its products in four target platforms: mobile phones, automotive systems, portable computing devices, and embedded consumer devices.
Editors Note: SiRF, SiRFstar, SiRF plus orbit design in purple and gold, SoftGPS are registered trademarks of SiRF Technology, Inc. SiRFstarIII, SnapLock, SnapStart, SingleSat, Foliage Lock, TricklePower, Push-to-Fix, WinSiRF, SiRFLoc, SiRFDRive, SiRFNav, SiRFXTrac, SiRFSoft, and Multimode Location Engine, are trademarks of SiRF Technology, Inc. Other trademarks are property of their respective companies.
For additional information, please visit www.sirf.com.
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