DUBLIN, Ireland, Aug. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Parthus Technologies plc (Nasdaq: PRTH - news; LSE: PRH), a leading provider of semiconductor intellectual property (IP), today announced that Aralion, one of Asia's largest ASIC vendors, has signed a licensing and royalty agreement for Parthus' BlueStream platform to power its next generation Bluetooth(TM) chipsets.
As part of the licensing agreement, Aralion has licensed the Parthus BlueStream baseband and protocol stack, which will be combined with industry-standard Bluetooth radios using the standard BlueRF radio interface. Bluetooth is rapidly emerging as the de facto standard for wireless communication between a range of electronic devices such as mobile phones, laptops, PCs, printers and handheld devices. By eliminating the need for cables between inter-connecting devices, individuals can share voice and data using fast and secure local wireless connections. By 2005, Cahners In-Stat forecasts that Bluetooth technology will be used in almost 1.4 billion devices, ranging from mobile phones and desktop computers to digital cameras and automobiles.
Aralion is one of Korea's largest ASICs (application specific integrated circuit) vendors and is engaged in strategic partnerships with many of Korea's leading OEMs targeting D-TV, CDMA, storage, wireless and network chipsets. In addition to the licensing agreement, Aralion has signed as a sales and distribution partner for the complete portfolio of Parthus' IP-platforms for the Korean market.
``We are extremely pleased to be licensing Parthus' well respected BlueStream platform to power our Bluetooth chipsets,'' said H.S. Kim, director of the Semiconductor Business Unit at Aralion. ``It is our aim to become the leading supplier of wireless chipsets in Korea and a major player in Asia. By licensing Parthus Bluetooth platform, and by becoming a value-added reseller of its complete portfolio of Parthus IP, Aralion now posses an excellent technology base to attract new and existing customers to these very sophisticated and advanced mobile Internet solutions.''
``The Asian market is clearly leading the way in mobile Internet adoption and device innovation,'' said Gerry Maguire, vice president and general manager of the Wireless Business Unit at Parthus. ``Our licensing and distribution agreement with Aralion, Koreas largest independent ASIC company, is another important milestone in Parthus' development in the region.''
Today's announcement follows the recent news that Parthus has become the world's largest supplier of Bluetooth IP into the semiconductor industry, according to industry analyst group Gartner Dataquest. The comprehensive survey of the SIP market found that Parthus' share of the Bluetooth IP market grew to over 36% in 2000, a leap of 263% over the previous year... |
