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September 14th, 2005
Integration reported that its Integration IA4420 Transceiver has
been selected by BRK Brands, Inc., the producer of First Alert, a very popular home safety products. The transceiver and Integration’s
EZMAC protocol, known as Integration’s EZRadio technology, are central to the design of BRK’s ONELINK smoke and
carbon monoxide series of safety products.
BRK’s ONEKINK products bring low-cost home protection to a
new level, According to Mark Colello, senior vice president and general manager, BRK Brands, Inc., "These new products make
it possible for all homeowners to have whole-home protection without huge costs or hassles. With Integration's EZRadio technology
we were able to deliver homeowners a complete, cost-effective solution to provide the first interconnected alarm network for
both fire and CO emergencies."
ONELINK offers homeowners a complete wireless network of alarms
that communicate vital security and safety information to each other and the homeowner via an early warning system. The voice
warning system can be installed in every room in the house and has been designed to inform the homeowner of the location of
the smoke or carbon monoxide leak in the house. A beep warning signal can also be selected.
One can find the First Alert ONELINK home safety system at The Home
Depot, one of the largest home improvement retail stores in the world.
September 13th, 2005
TechnoConcepts Inc. (OTCBB:TCPS) has reported that it has entered
into an agreement with China’s largest semiconductor and chip design company, China Electronics Corporation (CEC). As
part of the agreement, TechnoConcepts’ patented RF/D technology will be integrated into cellular handsets manufactured
by CEC’s subsidiaries. TechnoConcepts will receive a license fee on each handset manufactured. License fee revenues
is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2007.
Techno’s RF to Digital technology will permit triple play
services for 3G cell phone users. Cell phone users, with phones based on the technology, will be able to select different
network connections to receive voice, data or video – anyplace and anytime. The company indicated that the technology
would enable mobile phone users to have service even in disaster situations such as Hurricane Katrina.
CEC Wireless ("CECW") and/or Great Wall Computer will manufacture
the 3G handsets, which are expected to be produced in high volume. According to Antonio Turgeon, chairman and CEO of TechnoConcepts,
"While our technology has been successfully demonstrated for major electronics manufacturers in both China and South Korea,
this agreement with CEC marks a significant milestone for Techno as it is the first agreement which calls for our technology
to be incorporated into a consumer device for large scale distribution."
Mr. Turgeon added more market details, "We believe our technology
will ultimately be incorporated in numerous communication applications and devices to be manufactured and distributed by many
of the world's largest companies to be used by millions of people all over the world. But today's announcement is in many
ways is a 'bull's-eye' for Techno. It is for deployment of our technology in the largest vertical market (cellular phones)
we have identified, by the largest IT Company in China, in the largest market (China) in the world. There is no mistaking
that China is the growth engine for telecommunications and 3G technologies. Estimates are that China adds approximately five
million mobile-phone users each month."
China Electronics Corporation, which sold over 20 million cell phones
in 2004, employs approximately 34,000 employees.
September 13th, 2005
Fujitsu Siemens Computers Selects SiS’
Chips for Business PCs
Silicon Integrated Systems, one of Taiwan’s major fabless
chip companies, has reported that Fujitsu Siemens Computers will use its chips in the design of its professional PC line.
The computers, the ESPRIMO E5600 and ESPRIMO P5600, will use the SiS761GX integrated Northbridge chipset. The ESPRIMO series
is intended for the business desktop PC market.
September 12th, 2005
Sensory’s voice recognition and speech synthesis technology
chips are expected to be incorporated into most interactive toys given during the holidays this year. One of the reasons is
that Hasbro’s Tiger Electronics division has based its new FURBY toy on Sensory’s RSC-4128 microcontroller. According
to Todd Mozer, CEO of Sensory, "The newly-released FURBY creature uses the RSC-4128 as a complete single-chip solution providing
all hearing, talking and CPU functions." The original FURBY toy since its introduction has sold over 40 million units.
The new FURBY design is expected to be much more advanced than the
last version, which might give it even more market pull. The new toy has six times more memory and with its advanced processor
also is more agile and expressive. The motor controls turn the toy into a dancing doll that has both moving ears and eyes.
The sensors inside also give the toy the ability to respond to feeding time and tickling. It also has advanced multilingual
listening and speech capabilities.
According to Leif Askeland, Vice President of Engineering and Technology
Development at Hasbro, "Because of advances in technology, we have been able to make the new FURBY with many of the features
that we had wanted to put in the original but could not because of cost. Thanks to Sensory's cutting-edge ICs and speech technologies,
the new FURBY creature can actually listen to what you say and respond in a very vibrant fashion."
The new FURBY design is expected to retail for less than $40.00.
Besides, American and British FURBYs, there will be Dutch, French German, Spanish, Japanese and Italian FURBYs to meet the
global demand for the doll.
Sensory lists its other customers as JVC, Kenwood, Mitsubishi, Toshiba,
Uniden and Sony.
Hasbro is world known for an expansive line of toy brands, which
include PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER, and WIZARDS OF THE COAST.
September 9th, 2005
Impinj, Inc., a fabless semiconductor company with operations in
RFID chips and intellectual property, has said it has entered into volume production of its Monza Generation 2 RFID tag chip.
Along with the announcement the company also said that it fulfill orders exceeding 50 million Monza chips in the second half
of 2005.
Impinj already has manufactured the Monza chip for several customers,
which were listed as Avery Dennison (NYSE: AVY), Hana RFID, IER, KSW Microtec AG, Precisia, RF IDentics, RSI ID Technologies
and UPM Rafsec.
According to Dr. William Colleran, Impinj CEO, "We are extremely
pleased that customers appreciate the performance advantages that our Monza tag silicon delivers. With volume production now
underway and key supply chain partnerships in place, Impinj is well-positioned to support the accelerating Gen 2 adoption.
We expect inlays based on our Monza chips to be available in high volumes as early as September, followed shortly thereafter
by converted labels."
Along with the announcement has also comes news that Impinj has
entered into a manufacturing agreement with Alien Technology, also a RFID chip company. Dr. William Colleran also remarked
on that arrangement, "Alien has established itself as a market leader in RFID for EPC applications, and is especially effective
in using their FSA technology to address the tag assembly challenge faced by the RFID industry. Under this arrangement, both
Alien and Impinj leverage our complementary strengths -- Impinj's chip design prowess and Alien's assembly capability -- to
deliver very high performance RFID products at competitive cost. We are delighted to announce our relationship which we expect
will provide differentiated products that meet current and future market needs."
The Impinj RFID solution is called the GrandPrix Solution and is
based on AEON nonvolatile memory technology.
September 6th, 2005
Christmas Xbox to Be Based On Infineon’s Chips
Microsoft’s Xbox 360 consoles based on a broad line of standard and custom development Infineon Technologies’
chips are expected to be on the shelves for the Christmas season. The video game based entertainment system will include a
memory controller, specially designed by Infineon, an ASIC based wireless game pad controller chip for wireless control and
an advanced security chip.
Central to the selection of Infineon was the underlying theme of the ability of chip companies to offer complete system
solutions and to work with Microsoft’s team. According to Marc Whitten, Director, Xbox Peripherals at Microsoft. "Collaboration
with leading suppliers of semiconductors and electronic components is essential to the realization of Microsoft's vision to
deliver entirely new capabilities in consumer entertainment. Infineon's broad and complementary IP portfolio, system integration
skill, manufacturing expertise and proven track record were crucial factors in our decision to work with the company on these
components." Echoing those sentiments was Peter Bauer, the Head of Automotive, Industrial and Multimarket business group at
Infineon, "Today, customers require a system view to technology development in order to achieve increased performance, lower
cost and a higher level of integration. Infineon is taking this system design approach to bring more value to its key customers."
Infineon indicated that its IP (Intellectual Property) is playing a critical role in the development of the chips for the
Xbox 360 in the areas of security, memory control and embedded firmware. The company also reported that it created the embedded
software, designed the system printed circuit board and that its security chip was a custom implementation based on its own
technology. Infineon is a major market leader in the smart card and automatic identification chip market, and hence has developed
significant security technology - security technology that could be easily applied to pay-per-play video games.
Infineon said that the chips were developed in locations in Germany, Israel and Italy and are to be manufactured in France,
but indicated that the chips could be manufacturing easily in a number of other locations.
August 31st, 2005
Zebra Aligns with Alien – To Incorporate Aliens’ RFID Tag Chips in Labels
Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ:ZBRA), one of world’s leader in the RFID smart label market,
has reported that Alien Technology has qualified the company as a supplier of Alien Class 1 RFID smart labels. According to
David Bledsoe, Alien Technology director of OEM and consumables, "Alien is a market leader in EPC tag manufacturing and is
extremely pleased to have Zebra as a qualified Alien tag supplier. Zebra has shown outstanding commitment to delivering the
highest quality in printer/encoders and smart labels, which will provide substantial benefit to customers.”
August 24th, 2005
Electronic Sensor Technology, Inc. (OTCBB: ESNR), a company with sensor technology that can detect odors, fragrances
and chemical vapors within 10 seconds, has won another contract. This time the order comes from Sound and Optics International,
Inc, a distributor based in New Jersey. The order was for $3 million of the company’s zNose, electronic sensors. International
Security Systems, Ltd. plans to use zNose for security applications.
The new order brings Electronic Sensor Technology’s backlog up to $5 million. The company also just recently won
an $1.25 million order from Beijing R&D Technology, a Chinese company that is distributing Electronic Sensor’s
products in China.
"We have seen a significant increase in demand for the zNose in recent weeks," commented Matthew S. Collier, CEO at Electronic
Sensor Technology. "In just the past two weeks, we have announced purchases for the zNose for use in three countries. We believe
the strong demand for the device represents the growing need of companies internationally for innovative security solutions.
The zNose utilizes state-of-the-art technology to detect and analyze odors or chemicals in a matter of seconds, making it
an integral part of any security platform."
August 19th, 2005
Mindspeed Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:MSPD) a challenger in the VoIP semiconductor market, continues to build its VoIP
base with a design win from Huawei Technologies, Co. Ltd. and an alliance with Legerity Inc., a company that also has significant
operations in the VoIP market. Huawei, a network and telecommunications equipment supplier sited Mindspeed’s Comcerto
VoIP processor voice functionality as one of reasons for the choice, "Mindspeed's Comcerto family provides superior VoIP processing
power for our product. Complete hardware and software compatibility across the range of Comcerto processor channel densities
also provides Huawei Technologies with the flexibility and scalability required in designing advanced platforms with enhanced
voice functionality," said Liu Bo, Vice President of Huawei’s hardware product department.
Through Mindspeed’s alignment with Legerity the two companies have made plans to offer a complete VoIP solution,
which is intended to allow equipment companies to expedite the development of complete VoIP processing path and system solutions.
According to Mike Stibila, Vice President of Marketing and Applications at Legerity, "The Mindspeed and Legerity relationship
enables customers to develop VoIP products faster and more cost-effectively. In today's extremely competitive world, development
cost and time are king. Together, we offer the market a very low price point while providing the most advanced features and
diagnostic packages available."
The joint scalable solutions offered are to meet the need for complete VoIP design solutions for network infrastructure
and subscriber side equipment for applications such as copper POTS-to-Ethernet VoIP, voice and data routers, and passive optical
network equipment to name a few.
August 18th, 2005
Huawai-3Com selects Passave’s EPON Solution
As a sign that Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) will soon appear in China,
Passave has reported that Huawai-3Com has selected Passave’s Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) chips for use in
its Quidway S6500 Series Switch products - a line of products designed to provide data, voice and voice over fiber Gbps transmission.
The Quidway is expected to lower EPON based broadband service costs.
Passave’s EPON chip solution is credited with permitting Huawai-3Com
to expedite product development time. According to Xiang Ying Cao, vice president of Huawei-3Com, "We view gigabit-EPON technology
as one of the most advanced and mature solutions for delivery of access networks. By cooperating with Passave, we are able
to develop mature gigabit-EPON solutions for the Quidway switch product line in a very short time frame. This move has allowed
Huawei-3Com to maintain a leadership position within the industry and to drive down costs."
Passave, an EPON chip company, since its founding in 2001 has shipped
over five million ports of FTTH silicon. The company with 100 employees has deployed optical line terminal and optical network
unit devices in volume in Japan through the country’s major carriers.
August 16th, 2005
Kenwood to use SiRF’s Technology for 3D Image Based Car Navigation System
SiRF Technology’s GPS technology, specifically the SiRF SiRFStarIIe/LP GPS chip set as
part of Toyo Communication Equipment Co., Ltd. TCM-9016A2 GPS receiver module, has been selected by Kenwood for use in its
HDM-555 HDD car navigation system. Kenwood’s car navigation system displays 3D images of upcoming exit ramps, buildings
and intersections. The system also provides real time traffic information and alternate travel routes as determined from Japan’s
Vehicle Information and Communication System.
Commenting on the selection of SiRF’s chipset was Yasuhiko
Ikeda, deputy president of Toyocom, "Toyocom selected the SiRFstarIIe/LP for its first GPS receiver module product because
of its outstanding price/performance and SiRF's reputation as a leader in GPS technology. Our partnership with SiRF gives
us confidence we can continue to provide Kenwood with outstanding GPS technology solutions to meet their most demanding requirements
today and in the future."
August 11th, 2005
Mindspeed Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:MSPD), a contender for semiconductor market share in the VoIP market, reported another
design win for its VoIP processor, the Concerto VoIP processor. According to Mindspeed, the Concerto has been integrated into
Viking InterWorks’ VRDE1401 family of voice-gateway modules. The VRDE1401 voice-gateway module can provide up to 128
G.711 or 64 G.729ab voice channels. The module also offers support for lower cost applications that require just 8-voice channels.
Among the reasons given for the selection of the Concerto processor were the voice quality and enterprise features of the
chip. According to Donald F. Coffin, marketing manager, DSP Products for Viking InterWorks, "The excellent voice quality of
Mindspeed's Comcerto processor combined with sophisticated enterprise features enables us to provide a complete module solution,"
Steve McClure, executive director of marketing for Mindspeed, also emphasized Concerto’s voice quality "Together,
Viking InterWorks and Mindspeed address the needs of our customers who demand fast time to market without sacrificing end-user
voice quality. Our customers can leverage these modules into custom form factors across multiple densities for both carrier
and enterprise applications maximizing their investment."
Viking InterWorks considers itself one of the largest producers of memory modules in the world. The company also has operations
in communications and DSP modules. It is a division of Sanmina-SCI.
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