OEM GPS Receivers feature common hardware form factor.

Fastrax Ltd. Jun 28, 2006

Press Release Summary:

Multiplatform iTrax300, iTrax130, and iTrax03-S are powered by SiRFstar III, Sony CXD2985, and u-Nav uN2110 chipsets, respectively. User-configurable power management makes receivers suited to battery-operated systems requiring low power and small sleep state current drain. Featuring 16.2 x 18.8 x 2.3 mm form factor, units provide sensitivity down to -157 dBm, power consumption down to 34 mA, and 1 pps output.

Original Press Release:

Fastrax Announces New iTrax Multiplatform Family of OEM GPS Receivers

Common Hardware Form Factor Cuts Time-to-Market and Lowers Design Costs, Allowing Customers to Select Modules based on SiRF, Sony or u-Nav Chipset Depending on Application Requirements

Helsinki, Finland - May 30, 2006 - Fastrax Ltd., a leading provider of open and portable OEM GPS Software Development environments and programmable OEM GPS receivers, today announced the new iTrax Multiplatform family of OEM GPS receivers. The iTrax Multiplatform approach is the first in the industry to provide a common form factor between multiple OEM GPS receiver models with different chipsets.

The iTrax Multiplatform family includes the iTrax300, iTrax130 and iTrax03-S receivers, powered by SiRFstar III, Sony CXD2985 and u-Nav uN2110 chipsets, respectively. The increased range of choices allows consumer electronics manufacturers and OEMs to select the optimum receiver for each application, product and market segment.

All iTrax Multiplatform receivers offer high sensitivity and superb navigation performance even in difficult urban canyon environments. User-configurable power management makes iTrax Multiplatform receivers ideally suited to battery-operated systems requiring low power and small sleep state current drain.

Optimum time to market is achieved by the use of a common form factor, development environment, testing tools and technical documentation. Additionally, a single hardware design reduces development, manufacturing and logistics costs.

"Lite-On provides a variety of GPS-enabled products to several global consumer brand names. They address different market segments and have different requirements. The iTrax Multiplatform product range enables us to choose the right OEM GPS receiver to match each customer requirement perfectly, while meeting challenging time-to-market goals and minimizing engineering, testing and manufacturing costs," said Charley Wang, Vice President, Lite-On Technology Corp., Mobile Media Solutions.

"The new iTrax Multiplatform concept is a unique offering in the OEM GPS industry, allowing customers to use the same hardware form factor and design tools in products tailored for widely differing market segments. The Multiplatform concept brings substantial time and cost savings for leading high-volume companies such as Lite-On Technology Corporation whose business depends on the fast time-to-market of cost-effective new products," said Matti Raty, President, Fastrax Ltd.

Key features of the iTrax Multiplatform product family:
- Includes Fastrax iTrax300, iTrax130 and iTrax03-S receivers
- Tiny form factor: 16.2 mm x 18.8 mm x 2.3 mm
- High sensitivity down to -157 dBm
- Low power consumption down to 34 mA
- Common connectivity
- NMEA and binary protocols
- Two serial ports
- 1PPS output
- GPIO available for custom purposes
- Other peripherals include SPI bus, MMC bus, Capture Timer input, Pulse Measurement input, A/D converter depending on the module

For further application flexibility, the iTrax130 and iTrax03-S receivers support the Fastrax iSuite Software Development Kit. Fastrax iSuite technology may be used to rapidly modify receiver features and functionality and to add user application code to run onboard iTrax receivers. Adding support for wireless modems, Bluetooth devices, mass storage devices, LCD displays and keyboards is possible with minimum effort and without expensive extra components.

Fastrax contact:
Mr. Matti Raty
President / CEO
Tel. +358 400 431 124
matti.raty@fastrax.fi

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 to 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.