CSR Demonstrates Bluetooth Chip Incorporating FM radio at CTIA

LAS VEGAS & CAMBRIDGE, England--April 4, 2006--CSR plc today announces that it will demonstrate its BlueCore5-FM silicon at CTIA in Las Vegas. CSR announced BlueCore5-FM in September 2005, and was the first time Bluetooth and FM had been combined in a single chip. BlueCore5-FM is the first product from CSR's roadmap to integrate broadcast technology into single-chip Bluetooth devices. By integrating the FM radio with Bluetooth silicon, handset designers will be able to offer this feature using less space on the circuit board (PCB), fewer analogue components and at lower cost to the bill of materials (BOM).

BlueCore5-FM offers data transfer rates of up to 3Mb/s and low power 1.8V operation. A fully featured FM radio is also incorporated on the compact WLCSP or 6x6mm VFBGA package. The FM radio is integrated using a low IF receiver architecture, followed by a DSP (digital signal processor) based demodulator with interference suppression to ensure there is no conflict between the FM and Bluetooth radios.

CSR will demonstrate the capabilities of its BlueCore5-FM technology at CTIA, Las Vegas, from 5 to 7 April 2006, Hall N3, Stand 4725. The first demonstration will show that the FM and Bluetooth radios can work simultaneously without interference or degradation in performance. The FM radio will play through either stereo speakers or a wired headset whilst the EDR Bluetooth link will transfer a large file from the host to another Bluetooth-enabled device. The second demonstration will show stereo music received by the FM radio being successfully streamed over a Bluetooth connection to a pair of stereo headphones.

By using a DSP-based solution, there is no need for any external analogue components such as IF filters and the silicon implementation involved in adding the FM functionality to the die is very small. Therefore the cost of adding FM functionality to a handset is minimal and less physical space is taken in the PCB design for the same level of performance. In addition, the BlueCore5-FM design can be scaled to lower CMOS geometries in the future, thus further lowering cost and extending the ability to integrate the device into smaller designs. In terms of performance, the DSP also ensures that the FM receiver can identify and remove any signals generated by on-chip noise sources, thereby maintaining the quality of the FM reception.

About CSR

CSR plc is the leading global provider of Bluetooth technology and has developed expertise in other single-chip wireless communication standards such as Wi-Fi (IEEE802.11). CSR offers developed hardware/software solutions for Bluetooth based around BlueCore, a fully integrated 2.4 GHz radio, baseband and microcontroller.

CSR has now launched its fifth generation BlueCore suite and is in volume manufacture of its fourth generation BlueCore devices. BlueCore4 supports the Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) standard, which was ratified at the end of 2004. BlueCore4 remains the only EDR silicon to be shipping in volume today. In November 2004 CSR launched UniFi, the first single chip 802.11a/b/g embedded solution specifically targeting the mobile phone and consumer electronics markets.

BlueCore features in over 50 per cent of all Bluetooth devices shipped and over 60 per cent of all qualified Bluetooth enabled products and modules listed on the Bluetooth website with industry leaders including Nokia, Dell, Panasonic, Sharp, Motorola, IBM, Apple, NEC, Toshiba, RIM and Sony using BlueCore devices in their range of Bluetooth products.

In March 2005, CSR acquired Clarity Technologies Inc., for its Clear Voice Capture (CVC) technology that enhances the audio performance of any voice-based product or system. Applications for CVC include wireless headsets, handsets and automotive hands free systems.

In August 2005, CSR completed the acquisition of UbiNetics' software business, providing a strong R&D team to accelerate its existing software development in Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and UWB. The UbiNetics team gives CSR the capacity to extend its offering to mobile handset customers.

CSR has its headquarters and offices in Cambridge, UK, and offices in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, India, France, Denmark, Sweden and both Texas and Detroit in the USA.

More information can be found at www.csr.com and the partner web site www.btdesigner.com

More information about Bluetooth technology can be found on the SIG web site at www.bluetooth.com