Available Now in Production Quantities, the SiRFatlasIV Platform Maximizes Profits for Makers of Innovative, High-Volume Navigation and Location Devices
SAN JOSE, Calif., June 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Targeting an emerging class of location-centric devices for budget-conscious consumers, SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: SIRF), a leading provider of GPS-powered location platforms, today introduced the SiRFatlasIV(R) multifunction location system processor, a versatile solution for creating high-volume, navigation and location-aware products. With its high performance location engine and twice the memory bandwidth of current entry-level systems, the SiRFatlasIV platform - available now in production quantities - is designed to minimize bill of materials (BOM) and overall system cost while giving manufacturers the premium location and multimedia performance they need to create innovative, value-priced consumer products.
SiRFatlasIV complements the premium SiRFprima(R) multifunction location system processor introduced last year, and combines the same advanced location engine of SiRFprima with a multifunction feature set more optimized for entry level systems. Working closely with its key customers, SiRF designed the SiRFatlasIV architecture to reduce overall system BOM costs, including the integration of many high-cost peripheral functions onto the single chip, while giving customers flexibility to differentiate.
SiRFatlasIV is already in use by several leading original equipment and original device manufacturers, including ASUS International/Unihan Technology Corp., Binatone Electronics International Limited, CiRex Technology Corporation, Foxconn Technology Group, Globalsat Technology Corporation, Maylong and Maylong's GPS for Dummies, Navigon AG, NDrive Navigation Systems SA, Nextar Inc., Wistron Corporation and YF International.
'We believe multifunction, location-centric consumer devices are best served by multifunction location silicon and software platforms. The compelling cost/performance benefits of our SiRFatlasIV solution enable our customers to profitably address these high-volume consumer markets today without compromising the location performance consumers have come to expect from SiRF,' said Kanwar Chadha, founder and vice president of marketing for SiRF. 'Together, our SiRFatlas and premium SiRFprima multifunction system platforms enable SiRF's customers to offer a complete range of location-centric products with industry leading location, visualization and multimedia performance across all tiers of the mainstream market.'
By integrating the same advanced location engine as found in the SiRFprima platform, the SiRFatlasIV solution brings to value-priced products a level of location performance traditionally found only in high-end navigation systems. This high-sensitivity, 64-channel, multi-satellite system location engine, with more than 1,000,000 correlators, improves time to first fix (TTFF) in tough environments, and provides true -161-dBm simultaneous tracking of both GPS and Galileo satellites. Also, due to its intelligent sharing of system memory, the location engine is able to use the vast system resources available to improve tracking accuracy and navigation and further reduce cost.
The SiRFatlasIV's high sensitivity GPS core also allows the use of lower cost patch antennas and less expensive 2.5 ppm crystal oscillators without impacting performance. These cost-driven innovations broaden the potential for a wide range of entry-level and mid-range navigation and location-aware consumer devices.
'When developing our 3300 max and 4300 max product lines, we were looking for a solution that would enable us to deliver a premium navigation experience at an entry-level price, one with the GPS performance and application and graphics horsepower to support our unique MyRoutes feature, which actually learns the driver's habits and tailors routes to fit the individual's driving style, as well as our Reality View Pro, which displays roads realistically,' said Belhassen Jerbi, head of product management at Navigon AG.
