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SiRF Supply Technology for Motorola's First 3G Devices
October 2, 2002
Motorola's second agreement with SiRF in six months signifies the
importance of SiRF's location-based technology within the wireless
industry
SiRF Technology, Inc. today announced it has signed an agreement
with Motorola, in which Motorola's Personal Communications Sector
(PCS) will integrate SiRF's global positioning system (GPS) chipsets,
as well as its SiRFLoc(TM) Multimode location technology, into select
Motorola 3G devices. SiRF's technology will enable these phones,
which will be introduced in some European and Asian markets later
this year, with location-based capability.
This is the second agreement forged between SiRF and Motorola,
following an announcement in March in which the two companies announced
that SiRF will location-enable Motorola's iDEN family of digital
wireless phones to meet the requirements for the FCC's Enhanced
911 (E-911) mandate.
Specifically, SiRF's new SiRFstarIIe/LP GPS chipset will be used
in select Motorola 3G devices, while SiRFLoc Multimode location
technology will deliver position information with minimum need for
network bandwidth. SiRF's chipset and software technology will allow
these devices to determine their position in a wide range of operating
environments -- a prerequisite for supporting commercial location-based
services (LBS) to consumers.
"The always-connected, high-bandwidth environment of 3G is a perfect
place for the development of location-based services," according
to Kanwar Chadha, founder and vice president of business development
for SiRF. "Motorola is committed to providing its customers and
the marketplace with handsets that support these enhanced services.
We are happy to be teamed with them in introducing this technology."
Motorola and the SiRFstarIIe/LP Architecture
The Motorola phones will be location-enabled by SiRF's SiRFstarIIe/LP
chipset, which combines the industry's highest GPS performance with
extremely low power consumption. With its dramatic power efficiency,
high-sensitivity, and modular design, the SiRFstarIIe/LP will provide
an industry leading GPS platform for Motorola's 3G phones.
These select 3G phones will also come equipped with the SiRFLoc
Multimode location software technology, which will allow the phone
access to autonomous and network-aided GPS functionality in areas
where traditional GPS will not work, such as deep urban canyons
and even some indoor locations. "SiRF's new GPS technology delivers
outstanding GPS performance, low-power consumption, and a robust
Multimode GPS solution for Motorola's first 3G devices," according
to John Thode, vice president of 3G Products for Motorola's Personal
Communications Sector.
SiRFLoc Multimode technology is compliant with worldwide wireless
location standards, and can operate in both network-aided modes,
where information is provided from the network to aid in developing
a location; and in autonomous modes, in which the handset can continuously
update position without network assistance. Hence, SiRFLoc Multimode
delivers the maximum availability of position information with the
minimum need for network bandwidth. With a distributed client-server
architecture, the Multimode GPS technology provides users control
over their privacy.
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3G Motorola A920
