Fastrax and SiGe Semiconductor Cooperate for World's Best Performing Software GPS Solution

Fastrax and SiGe Semiconductor Cooperate for World's Best Performing Software GPS Solution

Fastrax Selected SiGe Semiconductors SE4120 radio front-end to boost its Software GPS to a sensitivity of -163 dBm

Helsinki, Finland; Andover, Massachusetts; and Ottawa, Canada (PRWEB) January 29, 2009 -- Fastrax (www.fastraxgps.com), a pioneering supplier of high performance GPS receivers, GPS software solutions and tracking systems for location-aware devices, and SiGe Semiconductor, a leading global supplier of products that are enabling wireless multimedia in a wide variety of computing, entertainment and mobile systems, announced today that Fastrax has selected SiGe's SE4120 to power its Software GPS solution.

As a result of the collaboration, the Fastrax Software GPS and SiGe Semiconductor's SE4120 radio front-end makes available a high performance GPS solution, complimented with a reference design to enable easy integration by third parties. The reference design is also available as a turnkey solution in the Fastrax iT900 RF module. This combined offering converts the GPS radio frequency (RF) signal into a digital intermediate frequency (IF) signal that is processed by Fastrax Software GPS solution. By deploying SiGe's IC, Fastrax Software GPS solution will provide the best user experience in a range of applications with a navigation sensitivity as high as -163 dBm.

The software-based approach is expected to increase the speed of adoption of GPS functionalities beyond the high-end cell phones. Target platforms include personal navigation devices (PNDs), mobile internet devices (MIDs), ultra-mobile PCs (UMPCs), personal media players (PMPs), smartphones, digital cameras and laptops.

While traditional GPS solutions require the integration of a GPS specific baseband, making the design more complex and adding to the cost, a software-based solution allows faster time-to-market with less costs and more adjustable features. With Fastrax Software GPS the GPS functionality can easily be managed and customized to be fully optimized for each specific device and application.

"We are always looking for ways to improve our offering and want to drive the GPS technology development. When combining Fastrax software GPS with SiGe's SE4120 we can deliver exceptionally high tracking sensitivity of -163 dBm, which exceeds all known solutions available in the market. We are now raising the bar on system sensitivity," explains Kim Kaisti, co-founder and VP of Business Development at Fastrax (www.fastraxgps.com). "SiGe's field proven leadership in GPS RF IC's, system knowledge and support was a significant driver to select them as one of our technology partners."

"Both SiGe and Fastrax (www.fastraxgps.com) focus on high-quality, low-power and high-sensitivity devices for reliable performance and stable GPS services. With Fastrax deploying our GPS solutions we have helped to build a platform that offers improved performance and opens up a whole new world of location-aware applications. The new solution will initially use our SE4120L or SE4120S devices and will support all known operating systems including all Microsoft ® Windows platforms, Embedded Linux and Nucleus, which will provide wider opportunities for device manufacturers," commented Stefan Fulga, Director Strategic Marketing of SiGe.

Fastrax Software GPS focuses on the optimization of signal acquisition and correlation, the functions typically requiring the most CPU power and memory in GPS solutions. It obtains the best performance on every platform, depending on available processing power and memory. Fastrax Software GPS flexibility enables portability to a range of CPUs, specific application processors and operating systems as it is based on the Fastrax iSuite architecture, which was originally designed for embedded environments.

The SE4120 is a highly integrated GPS/GNSS radio front-end IC, offering high performance and low power operation in a wide range of low-cost applications. It supports GPS and dual-mode L1-band GPS/GNSS products. The SE4120 features a conditioned interface for software implementations of GNSS baseband signal processing.

The SE4120 includes an on-chip LNA, a low intermediate frequency (IF) receiver with a linear AGC and an advanced multi-bit I/Q analog to digital converter (ADC) with serialized data output. The receiver incorporates a fully integrated image reject mixer, obviating the need for a SAW filter in many applications. The SE4120's on-chip IF filter may be adjusted from 2.2 MHz BW (for GPS only) to 4.4MHz BW (for simultaneous reception of GPS and GNNS signals). The digitized I/Q output, centered near-zero IF, is available in a serialized data stream to facilitate software signal processing.

The highly integrated PLL synthesizer of the SE4120 requires only two passive components to implement an off-chip loop filter. The SE4120 is optimized for the lowest possible power consumption consistent with a very low external component count.

For more information:

    

Fastrax Contact:        

Kim Kaisti

+358 424 7331

kim.kaisti (at) fastraxgps.com

Fastrax agency contact:

Netprofile Tech PR

Hanna Manninen

Tel. +358 9 6812 080

hanna (at) netprofile.fi

Sige Contact:

Press/Americas and Europe:     

Bev Hemish,

+1 613 288 2709

beh(at) sige.com

Press/Asia:     

Techworks Asia

Claire Walker

+852 2525 3980

claire (at)techworksasia.com

About Fastrax Ltd

Fastrax (www.fastraxgps.com) is a leading provider of high performance GPS receivers, GPS software solutions and tracking systems for device manufacturers and device designers. Fastrax enables the utilization of GPS and other Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) in virtually any device, from industrial applications to battery-operated consumer products. Based on a decade of intensive research and development, Fastrax products feature a unique combination of state-of-the-art performance, extremely low power consumption, flexible software and miniature, easy-to-deploy designs. The product portfolio consists of multiple GPS receivers and GPS antenna modules, novel pure software based GPS solutions offering fast time-to-market with minimal costs and easily adjustable features, along with easy-to-deploy Track & Trace platforms with integrated communications capabilities. Fastrax Extended Support Services provide expert advice and consulting in GPS application design. Fastrax is headquartered in Finland and founded in 1999. For further information, please visit www.fastraxgps.com.

About SiGe Semiconductor

SiGe Semiconductor is a leading global supplier of the products that are enabling wireless multimedia in a wide variety of computing, entertainment and mobile systems. Our innovative radio frequency integrated circuits and multi-chip modules simplify the addition of mobile broadband access and location-based capabilities to consumer electronics. SiGe products are designed specifically for these applications, providing the un-equaled performance that is necessary for high-quality, user-focused applications on the go. Offering exceptional performance, our products comply with Wi-Fi®, WiMAX™, and GPS technology standards. We deliver solutions designed for the end system application, enabling ease of integration and reduced time to market. SiGe operates worldwide, servicing leading consumer electronics OEMs and ODMs from five key sites as well as through an extensive global distribution network.

About SiGe Semiconductor's Lead-Free Initiative

The use of lead in the design and manufacture of electronic products is an increasing environmental concern. In support of industry-wide initiatives to protect the environment, all SiGe Semiconductor, Inc. products we ship today are lead-free and RoHS compliant.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release may contain certain forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the estimates and opinions of management on the date the statements are made, and SiGe Semiconductor, Inc. does not undertake an obligation to update forward-looking statements should conditions or management's estimates or opinions change.

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Contact Information Hanna Manninen

Netprofile Tech PR for Fastrax

http://www.fastraxgps.com

358 9 6812 080