SiRF Creating End-to-End Solution to Optimize Location Awareness Experience on the Android Platform |
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SiRF Technology, Inc.
148 E. Brokaw Rd.
San Jose, CA, 95112
USA
Press release date: December 17, 2007
GPS Leader Implementing Key Location Features to Enable Performance Leadership and Standards Compliance
SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 17 -- As a founding member of the Open Handset Alliance, SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRF), a leading provider of GPS-powered location platforms, today announced it will rapidly implement key end-to-end location-awareness features needed to enable mobile devices powered by the Android(TM) platform to provide an optimal location awareness experience for consumers. SiRF has joined with Google and more than 30 other companies worldwide to develop and deploy Android, the Alliance's open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. SiRF's commitment to Android is the latest in the company's efforts to bring the power of location to the mainstream market by making location an intrinsic part of the mobile experience.
SiRF is actively working on the Android platform to include some of the more innovative features of Secure User Plane Location (SUPL), a standards-based protocol that allows a mobile handset client to communicate with a SUPL Location Platform (SLP), including transport layer security (TLS) for location privacy and multiple session capabilities to provide the most compelling user experience. SiRF is also implementing support for Android-based assisted GPS (A-GPS) handsets, including mobile station based (MSB) and mobile station assisted (MSA) positioning methods to facilitate the Android platform passing Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and 3GPP conformance testing for third-party certification.
"SiRF is applying its vast end-to-end location solutions experience in working with leading global handset manufacturers, LBS infrastructure vendors, application providers and wireless operators to deliver a robust, high-performance location capability to the Android platform," said Kanwar Chadha, founder and VP of marketing for SiRF. "We believe our ardent focus on driving the location ecosystem gives us a distinct advantage when it comes to understanding the handset location capability certification process as well as the subtleties of how GPS and other technologies need to mesh in order to create a truly seamless locative experience for consumers in the applications they care about."
According to Chadha, consumers would like to see the power of location used to make their lives easier by enhancing the things they already do with their mobile devices. Consumers are looking for a "one-click" location experience, whether it's to navigate, geo-search, geo-tag, do social networking or access a wide range of location-aware applications and content. With location as a core feature in the Android platform, Chadha believes, handset manufacturers and carriers can provide consumers with an out-of-the-box "locative experience" where location permeates everything they do with their mobile device.
"We are only beginning to scratch the surface of what we can do with location capabilities built into our phones and wireless networks, and I strongly believe that location services will play an increasingly important role in wireless," said Andrew Seybold, Founder and Principle, Andrew Seybold, Inc., providing consulting, education and publishing services to the wireless industry. "By supporting Android with an end-to-end location solution, SiRF continues to demonstrate its leadership in bringing the power of location to mainstream markets."
SiRF is a world leader in creating technologies that confer location awareness or location intelligence to a wide range of consumer products, and boasts the largest core team focused on developing advanced, high volume location platforms. SiRF's flagship SiRFstarIII architecture is regarded by many as the "gold standard" for GPS location-enabling technology. Able to track more than 20 satellites, the SiRFstarIII architecture achieves the fastest time-to-first-fix in the industry, important for consumer applications, and can acquire signals down to -160 dBm, making location awareness practical almost anywhere, including in many indoor environments, and navigation possible through urban canyons and under dense foliage.
Driving the location ecosystem is a key strategic thrust at SiRF, and according to Chadha the positive response to SiRF's first location ecosystem summit is a very good indicator that the industry is proactively addressing the location awareness needs of consumers. At the recently concluded Location 2.0 Summit, an invitation only event hosted by SiRF in San Francisco, key industry leaders and influencers got together to discuss success stories and proven strategies as well as critical challenges for the location industry. Through its support for Android, SiRF hopes to further accelerate the development and deployment of exciting new location-aware applications and content.
About SiRF Technology
SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc. develops and markets location platforms based on semiconductor and software products that are designed to enable location-awareness utilizing GPS and other location technologies, enhanced by wireless connectivity and multimedia capabilities for high-volume mobile consumer devices and commercial applications. SiRF's technology has been integrated into a wide range of mobile consumer devices such as automobile navigation systems, portable navigation devices (PNDs), mobile phones, mobile computers, GPS-based peripherals and handheld GPS devices, and into commercial applications such as location servers, asset tracking devices and fleet management systems. SiRF markets and sells its products in four target platforms: wireless handheld devices such as mobile phones; automotive electronics systems, including navigation and telematics systems; consumer electronics products such as recreational GPS handhelds, mobile gaming machines, digital cameras and wearable devices; and mobile computing systems, including personal digital assistants, notebook computers, universal mobile personal computers (UMPCs) and mobile internet devices. Founded in 1995, SiRF is headquartered in San Jose, California, and has sales offices, design centers and research facilities around the world. The company trades on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange under the symbol SIRF. Additional information about SiRF and its location technology solutions can be found at http://www.sirf.com/.
Source: SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc.
CONTACT: Lori Evans of Evans Public Relations, +1-650-200-5891, lori@evanspublicrelations.com, for SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc.
Web site: http://www.sirf.com/
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