CSR achieves WAPI certification for CSR9000 with an innovative hardware accelerated architecture and wins EDN China Innovation Award

Industry accreditation brings benefits of CSR’s leading Wi-Fi to the Chinese market

Cambridge, UK - CSR (LSE: CSR) today announced that its award-winning CSR9000 Bluetooth + Wi-Fi product has been certified under China’s Wireless LAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure (WAPI) qualification. CSR’s CSR9000 solution was also awarded the EDN China Innovation Award for Leading Embedded System and IC Product.

WAPI is a critical product certification in China for Wi-Fi security. This certification makes CSR’s embedded Wi-Fi an ideal option for China’s many OEMs developing leading wireless technologies for the rapidly growing Chinese market.

The WAPI standard affects all mobile devices with Wi-Fi functions, and defines the specification and testing methods in the physical layer interface. In order to achieve certification, the Wi-Fi function must be tested in accordance with the specification issued by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

CSR’s approach to Wi-Fi security is considerably more advanced than most of the traditional alternatives on the market. By using a hardware encryption engine we believe CSR9000 achieves significantly faster throughput than other solutions which rely on slower software implementations of the WAPI. This swift throughput advantage translates into a noticeably improved user experience, with web pages and other content downloading at much faster speeds.

Sebastian Koh, Vice President Asia Pacific, CSR said, “China is an important market for CSR, which is why we have invested in an optimised hardware solution to implement WAPI encryption. The CSR9000 Bluetooth + Wi-Fi combination has enjoyed a good response from other regions. WAPI certification will allow Chinese customers to benefit from the small size of CSR9000. CSR’s hardware-based approach to encryption means that we don’t use up any of the precious processing power of the mobile device performing encryption algorithms. This means that consumers benefit from noticeably faster response times in the transfer of data and files, as the processor is freed up to deal with user applications rather than encryption issues"

Qin Zhi Qiang, General Secretary of the WAPI Alliance commented, “It is good to see that CSR has implemented WAPI in its CSR9000 products. Wireless security is an important issue for consumers today, and the adoption of WAPI helps to address these concerns. We’re also pleased with CSR’s commitment to WAPI in investing in a hardware-based solution. This allows users to benefit from excellent security without sacrificing throughput"

With ABI Research estimating that in 2009 alone the Wi-Fi chipset shipments for smartphones will be over 100 million units, the potential for the China market for Wi-Fi enabled phones is already a significant opportunity and is expected to grow substantially by 2012. This potential for growth may be stimulated primarily by the projected increasing consumer demand for Wi-Fi enabled smart phones. Wi-Fi enabled phones have access to faster internet connections than can be achieved over cellular connections, providing subscribers with access to more services and data features whilst on the move.

CSR has also been presented with a leading electronics industry award for its innovative connectivity combo solution at a ceremony held on Wednesday evening at the Seaview City Hotel in Shenzhen. The EDN China Innovation Award, for Leading Embedded System and IC Product, was awarded to CSR’s CSR9000 solution. Readers of EDN China were able to vote for all the awards. CSR9000 enables the smallest connectivity modules with sizes less than 60mm2 and is now in mass production.

About CSR
CSR plc is a leading provider of multifunction connectivity and location platforms. CSR’s technology portfolio includes Bluetooth, GPS, FM, Wi-Fi (IEEE802.11), UWB, NFC and other technologies to enable silicon platforms that incorporate fully integrated radio, baseband and microcontroller elements. CSR’s Connectivity Centre is designed to enhance the user experience with mainstream mobile devices by intelligent integration of multiple wireless connectivity and location-awareness technologies. CSR’s Location Platforms are complemented by wireless connectivity and multimedia capabilities for high-volume mobile consumer devices and commercial applications.

CSR’s technology has been adopted by market leaders into a wide range of mobile consumer devices such as mobile phones, automobile navigation and telematics systems, portable navigation devices (PNDs), wireless headsets, mobile computers, mobile internet devices, GPS recreational devices, digital cameras, mobile gaming, plus a wide range of personal and commercial tracking applications.

More information can be found at www.csr.com

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains certain statements (including statements concerning plans and objectives of management for future operations or performance, or assumptions related thereto) that are ’forward looking statements’ within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 in relation to WAPI certification for CSR9000, the Chinese market, CSR9000’s throughput speed, user experience and Wi-Fi-chipset shipments, and related events and their potential effects on CSR. These forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as ’may,’ ’will,’ ’potential,’ ’projected,’ ’expected to’ and other similar expressions. Any future release of the products or planned modifications to product capability, functionality or features are subject to ongoing evaluation by CSR and third parties, and may or may not be implemented and should not be considered firm commitments by CSR and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. Performance metrics stated are proven in a research environment and are not guaranteed in all environments.

Such forward-looking statements represent the current expectations and beliefs of management of CSR, and are based upon numerous assumptions regarding CSR’s business strategies and the environment in which CSR will operate and are not guarantees of future performance. Such forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, contingencies, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of CSR. Our actual performance and results may differ materially from those contemplated in our forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, including competition, global economic conditions, product performance, demand, our ability to effectively market our products, ability to effectively bring new products to market, achieve market acceptance for our products and the success of our customers, potential disputes involving third parties, our patents or intellectual property, uncertainties related to business or industry, Bluetooth and WiFi products and services, and risks associated with the semiconductor industry and other business strategies, as well as the risk factors described in our other public disclosures. Each forward looking statement speaks only as of the date hereof. CSR does not undertake to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward looking statements contained herein, otherwise than required by law.