Tensilica, Adamya claim system-on-chip drives Bluetooth functionality below $5

Tensilica, Adamya claim system-on-chip drives Bluetooth functionality below $5
By Semiconductor Business News
December 11, 2001 (7:34 p.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20011211S0081

SAN FRANCISCO -- Wireless systems developer Adamya Technologies Inc. and processor core supplier Tensilica Inc. today announced availability of a system-on-chip solution for Bluetooth radio-frequency connections that simplifies verification through standard software development tools.

Introduced at the Bluetooth Developers Conference here, the SoC device is based on Tensilica's Xtensa configurable microprocessor architecture. The two companies said the Xtensa C-Blue package will result in a wireless connectivity solution, which is compliant with the Bluetooth 1.1 spec, at less than $5 per system.

According to Tensilica and Adamya, traditional Bluetooth designs have been based on either standard products or dedicated hardwired logic in AISCs. The standard product approach requires too many devices and is too large for most end-equipment applications, while ASICs take too much time to design and verify, said the two companies.

"Low cost a nd power are the key factors in developing Bluetooth products," said Bernie Rosenthal, senior vice president of marketing and business development at Tensilica in Santa Clara, Calif. He said Adamya has exploited the configurability and extensibility of the Xtensa architecture to develop an SoC platform that reduces cost and time-to-market.

The C-Blue Bluetooth baseband and protocol stack is available now for license from Adamya Technologies in Milpitas, Calif. The pricing is based on a license fee per design, plus royalties, and starts at $350,000.