Global Positioning Systems (GPS)
Fastrax Introduces Three New GPS Receivers to iTrax and uPatch Product Families
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New Receivers Strengthen GPS Offering
Helsinki, Finland - June 19, 2007 - Fastrax Ltd., the provider of programmable iTrax GPS receivers as well as open and portable iSuite OEM GPS Software Development Kit environments, today announced the latest additions to its iTrax and uPatch product families.
Based on the ultra-sensitive SiRFstarIII (GSC3f/LP) chipsets and with 8Mbit internal flash memory, the new iTrax310 GPS receiver module enables high-performance navigation in the most stringent applications and a solid fix even in extremely demanding GPS environments. The iTrax310 OEM GPS receiver provides the high performance levels of the iTrax300, including low acquisition sensitivity (-143dBm), navigation sensitivity (-158dBm) and power consumption (110mW at 3.0V), but with a 30% smaller form factor.
iTrax310 receivers are ideally suited for both industrial navigation systems and battery operated consumer products such as handheld computers, vehicle navigation devices, sports accessories and mobile phones.
The new uPatch300 is an ultra small GPS receiver module with an integrated and already optimized patch antenna element. Based on the Sirf Star (GSC3e/LP) chipset, the uPatch300 includes an 8-pin system connector and a UFL antenna connector for an optional external antenna.
The new uPatch130 GPS receiver has also an already integrated and optimized patch antenna and the same form factor and connectors as uPatch300, but is based on the Sony CXD2985 single chip. Being programmable with iSuite 3 SDK, the uPatch 130 facilitates customer cost savings by enabling the programming of applications on the existing ARM 7 core.
As all uPatch GPS receivers, the uPatch300 and the uPatch130 offer very high navigation performance in a compact, cost-effective design. The receivers are ideally suited for navigation and recreational devices as well as GPS Mouse type applications in which high performance and low cost are key issues. The new uPatch receivers are form factor and pin compatible, which further extends the Multiplatform concept introduced within the iTrax family.
"The three products now introduced significantly strengthen the Fastrax iTrax and uPatch GPS receiver offerings. The iTrax310 reduces the size of surface mount GPS receivers even further and is definitely one of the smallest GPS receivers available on the market. The uPatch300 and uPatch130 expand Fastrax's Multiplatform concept, which is the first in the industry to provide a common form factor between multiple OEM GPS receivers based on different chipsets. Customers have varying requirements and by strengthening our GPS offering we are able to serve more customers even better than before. Many customers have expressed interest in a product like the uPatch300," said Mr. Taneli Tuurnala, President and CEO, Fastrax.
The new iTrax310 and uPatch300 samples will be available in July 2007. Samples of the uPatch130 will be available in August 2007.
About Fastrax Ltd
Fastrax provides industry-leading receivers and software solutions for optimal utilization of GPS (Global Positioning System) and other GNSS location services (Global Navigation Satellite Systems). Fastrax transforms GPS technologies into highly scalable iTrax and iSuite solutions with open interfaces, combined with ultra low power consumption and miniature hardware design. With industry-leading performance, Fastrax GPS receivers navigate continuously even in extreme conditions. Receivers are ideally suited to both industrial location applications and high-volume consumer products such as cell phones and sports accessories. Fastrax Engineering Services provide expert services in application design. Headquartered in Finland and founded in 1999, the company is privately owned and backed by leading venture capital investors CapMan, Eqvitec, Startupfactory and Innocap, with a strategic investment by Suunto Corporation, a subsidiary of Amer Sports, a leading global supplier of sporting goods equipment. More information: www.fastrax.fi.
Global Positioning System (GPS) is a worldwide satellite navigation infrastructure funded and controlled by the U.S. Department of Defense, originally developed for U.S. military purposes. GPS provides satellite signals that enable GPS receivers to calculate their exact position and velocity. The GPS infrastructure has three segments. The space segment consists of 24 satellites that orbit the earth every 12 hours. The control segment consists of tracking stations located around the world, with the master control station located at Falcon Air Force Base in Colorado. The user segment consists of GPS receivers and users utilizing the information provided by the system. GPS is widely used in applications such as marine navigation.
Fastrax contact:
Mr. Fredrik Borgstrm
Director, Sales & Marketing
Tel. +358 (0)424 733 1
Fredrik.borgstrom (at) fastrax.fi
Fastrax agency contact:
Netprofile Tech PR
Ms. Christina Forsgrd
Tel. +358 9 6812 080
christina (at) netprofiletechpr.com
