SGTL news and a comment -
SigmaTel and Infineon Bring Enhanced Connectivity to Portable Media Players
Tuesday March 7, 9:00 am ET
Companies Will Jointly Develop Bluetooth Solutions Optimized for Digital Multimedia Devices
AUSTIN, Texas & MUNICH, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 7, 2006--SigmaTel, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGTL - News), a leader in mixed-signal multimedia semiconductors, and Infineon Technologies AG (FSE/NYSE: IFX), a leading communication semiconductor company, today announced that they have entered into an agreement to offer Bluetooth® solutions for portable digital multimedia devices. Under the terms of the agreement, the companies will jointly develop a Bluetooth chip that is optimized for use in digital multimedia devices based on SigmaTel's portable multimedia System on Chip (SoC) solutions. The new chip will make use of SigmaTel's optimized radio architecture and Infineon's expertise in Bluetooth technology, chip design, CMOS process technology, and manufacturing know-how. SigmaTel and Infineon believe this solution will enable widespread adoption of Bluetooth technology in even the most cost sensitive, power and space constrained applications, such as MP3 players or stereo headsets. The new chip will be exclusively marketed by SigmaTel.
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Prior to the availability of the new optimized Bluetooth solution, SigmaTel will begin offering Infineon's BlueMoon UniCellular (PMB8753) Bluetooth 2.0 solution featuring Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) functionality as part of its STMP3600 MP3 player Reference Design Kits (RDKs). The reference design will provide a turnkey system, including the Bluetooth upper stack software and relevant Bluetooth profiles. The design will also be BQB certified and UnplugFest tested, reducing customer development costs and time to market. SigmaTel's customers can expect a smooth transition from the PMB8753 to the optimized SigmaTel Bluetooth solution.
The addition of Bluetooth to SigmaTel solutions will allow MP3 and portable multimedia device manufacturers to provide seamless interoperability with the rapidly expanding universe of Bluetooth-enabled products, including stereo headsets, headphones, cellular handsets, and car audio systems. New and compelling usage scenarios include:
Wireless streaming of high-quality digital audio from a portable player to a car stereo, including control of the portable player from the car stereo's built-in user interface. No cables, adapters, or custom installations are required.
Sharing of one wireless headset between a portable player and a cell phone, allowing the user to effortlessly switch between phone calls and music playback.
Using wireless headphones for sports or other activities, eliminating the dangling wire, and allowing for convenient control of the portable player directly from the headphone.
SigmaTel's portable multimedia SoC solutions provide high quality audio playback for portable devices such as MP3 players, language learners, and jukeboxes. The company's solutions offer market-leading benefits, including as much as a 30 percent lower bill of materials cost, Hi-Speed USB 2.0, 70 hours of battery life on a single AA battery, and a 14.5 square cm PCB footprint enabling incredibly small form factor products. With flexible software support and upgrade options, the SigmaTel SoC solution offers support for MP3 and WMA audio formats as well as WMA Digital Rights Management (DRM) security.
Availability
SigmaTel's STMP3600 RDK with the Infineon PMB8753 Bluetooth solution is now sampling to SigmaTel's beta customers for production in the second quarter. Customers interested in ordering the RDK should contact their local sales office listed on the SigmaTel web site at www.sigmatel.com or contact sales at sales@sigmatel.com.
Link is here: biz.yahoo.com
SigmaTel Launches Theater Quality, High Definition Audio Codecs Offering Simultaneous VOIP and Audio
Monday March 6, 9:00 am ET
SigmaTel Offers Customers Theater Quality Audio Solutions with New 8- and 10- Channel High Definition Audio Codecs
Link is here: biz.yahoo.com
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I think the PR dated today is truly significant and demonstrates that mgt is looking down the road. There is no question (at least as of current technology) that the biggest drag on MP3 and video players is the stupid hard-wired headset. Wireless is king. I think it's great that SGTL is sampling this product with customers now. |
