Silicon Wave Announces Second Generation Bluetooth™ Wireless Solutions
Silicon Wave Connected Solutions Program, Development Tools and Baseband IP Licensing Program, Combined with Second Generation Components, Extend the Company's Leadership in Worldwide Bluetooth Marketplace
San Diego – October 29, 2001 – Silicon Wave, a leading designer and provider of RF communication system components, today announced their second generation Bluetooth components along with their Silicon Wave Connected Solutions Program, development tools and Baseband IP Licensing Program. Building on the strengths of their industry-leading first generation products, which have been shipping in volume since 2000, this second generation includes the SiW1701™ Radio Modem and the SiW1750™ and SiW1760™ Baseband Processors. All of the ICs were designed to significantly reduce power consumption, system cost and size, while allowing maximum flexibility for implementing end-user products. The Silicon Wave Connected Solutions Program provides worldwide support for customers to rapidly develop complete Bluetooth solutions based on proven technology from Silicon Wave and other vendors of complementary Bluetooth products. Silicon Wave's enhanced development tools include a wireless development system and a radio modem evaluation system. In addition, Silicon Wave's Baseband IP Licensing Program provides customers with a fast path to integrating Bluetooth baseband functionality into their system-on-chip ASIC designs.
"Low power consumption and solution cost will continue to be the primary selection criteria for Bluetooth chips," said Joyce Putscher, director of converging markets and technologies for Cahners In-Stat Group. "Semiconductor designers, who are successful in delivering the lowest power possible while developing programs to assist in implementing low power products within a short time-to-market at a low Bill of Material (BOM) rate, will experience the most success as OEMs strive to preserve margins in this thriving market."
Compared to Silicon Wave's first generation products, the second generation products decrease power consumption by up to 90%, system cost by 30% and size by 60%. To ensure the lowest power Bluetooth solutions, Silicon Wave implemented the baseband ICs in 0.18um technology, lowered the internal voltage to 1.8V and enhanced the system level architecture for Bluetooth performance tasks. This yields a much lower count and cost of external components, significantly lowering the total Bluetooth BOM cost. The footprint of Silicon Wave's radio modem and baseband has decreased to better fit small form factor mobile applications without losing any performance capabilities.
"Our second generation is designed to meet OEM and end-user requirements for lower power, lower cost and smaller size solutions," said Dave Lyon, CEO of Silicon Wave. "One solution does not fit all, and we anticipate that our SiW1700 series, combined with our Silicon Wave Connected Solutions Program, development tools and Baseband IP Licensing Program, will benefit our customers directly by providing maximum flexibility, and the shortest time-to-market."
The Silicon Wave Connected Solutions Program is a comprehensive approach created to provide customers with the resources needed to rapidly develop complete Bluetooth solutions based on proven technology from Silicon Wave and other companies with complementary Bluetooth products. Through relationships with these other companies, including authorized design centers, module suppliers and upper layer protocol software suppliers, Silicon Wave has developed a worldwide support structure that ensures rapid time-to-market for customers who have selected Silicon Wave solutions. Silicon Wave's development tools, the wireless development system (WDS4) and radio modem evaluation system (RMES4), provide a flexible Bluetooth environment to facilitate radio development and performance testing.
Silicon Wave's Baseband IP Licensing Program offers a robust Bluetooth baseband to OEMs, making a $5 Bluetooth solution a reality by enabling the integration of Bluetooth baseband functionality into the OEM's system-on-chip ASIC designs. This baseband design supports ARM™ processors and utilizes a highly compact software stack requiring only 12KB RAM and 3 MIPS with a host processor.
"Silicon Wave's second generation product portfolio, combined with our Connected Solutions Program, delivers optimal performance and compatibility with the smallest footprint," said Steve Brown, vice president and general manager of Bluetooth Products for Silicon Wave. "When coupled with our Baseband IP Licensing Program, the SiW1701 Radio Modem results in the world's smallest Bluetooth implementation at 7x7 mm, further building on Silicon Wave's dedication to providing lower power, lower cost and a smaller footprint without sacrificing high performance or data throughput."
This portfolio of products is targeted for integration into mobile phones, notebook and desktop PCs and accessories, printers and PDAs. All components are compatible with Silicon Wave's first generation components and are Bluetooth Specification Version 1.1 compliant.
SiW1701 Radio Modem
The SiW1701 builds on the features of the industry-leading SiW1502™ radio modem. Encompassing the same high-performance capabilities as the SiW1502, the SiW1701 is fully integrated, has ultra-low standby and active power consumption, and functions with superior RF performance over an extended temperature range, ideal for mobile phone applications. The SiW1701 features a 100% digital interface. Packaged in a 48-pin MLF with a 7x7 mm footprint, samples of the SiW1701 are currently available with volume production planned in Q1 of 2002. The SiW1701 is priced at $5 when purchased in 100k unit quantities.
SiW1750 and SiW1760 Baseband Processors
The SiW1750 and SiW1760 are unique 32-bit ARM-based baseband processors that work with the SiW1701 at an unprecedented level of low power consumption and allow maximum data throughput for interoperability and connectivity to a number of devices. The SiW1750 uses external flash memory - giving maximum application flexibility. The SiW1760 integrates ROM to provide a low cost, low power solution in a smaller footprint. These baseband processors integrate the industry-standard ARM 7 processor core and are customized for use in battery powered mobile applications. The SiW1750 is packaged in a 132-pin BGA with a 8x8 mm footprint. Samples of the SiW1750 will be available in Q4 of 2001 and volume production is planned in Q1 2002. The SiW1760 is packaged in a 64-pin BGA with a 6x6 mm footprint. Samples will be available and volume production is planned for Q2 of 2002. Both the SiW1750 and SiW1760 are priced at $5 each when purchased in 100k unit quantities.
About Silicon Wave, Inc.
Based in San Diego, Silicon Wave designs and produces RF communication system components that consistently deliver superior user experience. Silicon Wave products and services include radio modems, baseband processors, software solutions and a Baseband IP Licensing Program for Bluetooth wireless communications, and a complete line of silicon tuners for cable modems and digital set-top boxes. Founded in 1997, the company was the first to deliver a fully qualified, single-chip radio modem for Bluetooth communications and first to achieve Bluetooth Specification Version 1.1 qualification for its products. Silicon Wave is an Associate Member of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. The company's Web site is located at www.siliconwave.com.