CSR unveils CSR9000 – the world’s most integrated Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS and FM solution for mobile devices

CSR provides live technology demonstrations on Android and other mobile platforms

Mobile World Congress, Barcelona – CSR today revealed its latest breakthrough connectivity product; CSR9000. CSR9000 offers a long list of connectivity technologies, Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n), FM receive and transmit and GPS. Providing unprecedented levels of integration, CSR9000 enables the smallest connectivity modules with sizes less than 60mm2. Modules based on competitors’ chipsets are typically over 100mm2 and lack GPS or Bluetooth low energy. CSR9000 also features superior performance in key areas such as Wi-Fi throughput and coexistence. In demonstrations at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, 16-19 February 2009, CSR is proving its claims of how CSR9000 is the industry’s best Bluetooth and Wi-Fi solution available today.

The architecture of handsets and other portable electronic devices is changing with the emergence of a subsystem to specifically handle connectivity functions. CSR correctly identified this evolution over a year ago and aligned its overall strategy to dominate this area. CSR is the driving force behind the evolution of this connectivity subsystem known as the Connectivity Centre.

CSR9000 is gaining strong traction from leading module manufacturers who need to produce small form-factor implementations in mobile handsets. CSR9000’s high level of integration means that modules can now achieve smaller dimensions than previously possible, with total module footprints below 60mm2 in some cases. In addition to module options, it is also straightforward to design CSR9000 in a chip-on-board configuration.

CSR is demonstrating the capabilities of its world leading connectivity technologies incorporated in CSR9000, at stand 1E51, Hall 1 at Mobile World Congress. These demonstrations, on both featurephone and smartphone platforms such as Android, will include the industry’s most advanced Bluetooth and Wi-Fi coexistence schemes based on dynamic packet traffic analysis, as well as GPS and FM. CSR will compare its technologies to those of its competitors, showing the clear demonstrable advantages that CSR’s solutions bring and making a clear statement of CSR’s leadership in the field of embedded wireless technologies. There will also be a sneak preview of technologies under development, including new use cases created by Near Field Communications (NFC) and Ultra Wideband (UWB) running at over 400Mbps.

“Connectivity technologies evolve rapidly and at Mobile World Congress we will be demonstrating how CSR is well ahead of the pack,” said Matthew Phillips, Senior Vice President of CSR’s Handset Business Unit. “We’ve seen attach rates for Bluetooth and FM rise quickly, and Wi-Fi and GPS will follow. Our CSR9000 product means that phone makers can now have a wide range of connectivity technologies as standard and can enable new handset features. With GPS for example, users will be able to take advantage of mapping, geotagging and location-aware social networking. CSR’s GPS solution comfortably enables these types of applications even on mid-range featurephone models where cost, size and processing power are all under tight constraints.

“Everybody is scrambling to pack in as many connectivity technologies in as small a space as possible for the cheapest price,” explained Raj Gawera, Vice President Marketing, Handset Business Unit, CSR. “The key characteristics of a winning solution will be integration, size, cost and performance; all areas in which CSR9000 clearly outstrips the competition.

“The next wave of connectivity adoption will be all about using multiple connectivity technologies in a collaborative manner to implement brand new features. Several examples help illustrate the point: Transferring files between portable devices is a common use case. When using the high speed Bluetooth (Alternate MAC/PHY or ‘AmpliFi’) technology that CSR has been demonstrating for over six months, either the 802.11 or Ultra Wideband (UWB) modems can be used to speed up Bluetooth transfers. Near Field Communication (NFC) can be used to securely pair Bluetooth or Wi-Fi links. Even positioning technology is evolving beyond the bounds of GPS to use multiple connectivity technologies as part of a hybrid positioning scheme. Of course to take advantage of these smart features, manufacturers will need to source all their various connectivity technologies from a single supplier – which is already a clear trend. ”

CSR9000 is tied together by Synergy, CSR’s milestone embedded wireless systems software. Launched earlier this month, Synergy offers overarching support for all of CSR’s Connectivity Centre technologies in a single package. It enables advanced new use cases through the easy and efficient co-operation of multiple wireless standards, and is the world’s first host connectivity software to work in this way.

CSR is already sampling CSR9000 to key customers.