Infineon Technologies and Global Locate Develop an Extremely Sensitive, Low Power Single-Chip Enabling Assisted GPS Services for Mobile Phones
SAN JOSE, Calif. & MUNICH, Germany—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Oct. 12, 2004—
Infineon Technologies (NYSE:IFX) (FWB:IFX) and
Global Locate today announced that they are jointly developing the
industry's highest performing Assisted Global Positioning System
(A-GPS) chip for mobile telephones, smart phones and PDAs. The new
Hammerhead(TM) chip is optimized for cellular handsets and can bring
GPS functionality to mobile phones.
The Hammerhead chip will enable location-based services such as
emergency assistance and personal navigation in deep urban canyons,
moving vehicles and even indoors. Global Locate is contributing its
knowledge in baseband design, GPS signal processing and control
software as well as system level know-how; Infineon its expertise in
radio frequency design, system integration, process technology and
manufacturing. Both companies will jointly market the Hammerhead chip.
The Hammerhead A-GPS chip will be able to detect a GPS signal that
is 1,000 times weaker than the normal "open sky" signal outdoors. All
aspects of the design have been optimized for mobile handsets. The
chip consumes very little power, has extremely robust performance and
at 7mm by 7mm (about a third of an inch by a third of an inch) is no
larger than a key on the dialing pad of a mobile phone.
"Once designed into a mobile handset, this state-of-the-art single
chip will make it very easy for a user to find the nearest gas
station, the nearest hospital, or the nearest restaurant," said
Dominik Bilo, Chief Marketing Officer of Infineon's Secure Mobile
Solutions business group. "It will enable mobile users calling 911 to
provide emergency services with very accurate location information,
both from indoors and outdoors."
In the United States, A-GPS-enabled mobile telephones are in
demand due to a U.S. Federal Communications Commission mandate, E911,
which requires all wireless service providers to upgrade their
infrastructure to enable accurate tracking of emergency calls placed
from mobile telephones by the end of 2005. In Japan, all
third-generation mobile telephones sold after April 2007 require A-GPS
functionality to support emergency services as well.
"In 2008, we expect more than 730 million mobile phones to be sold
worldwide," said Bilo. "By then, greater than one in four mobile
handsets will be equipped with GPS functionality."
How GPS Works
The Global Positioning System is a satellite navigation system
that allows a user of a mobile device to pinpoint his or her exact
position on the globe at any time, at any location, in any weather.
More than 28 GPS satellites orbit the Earth and broadcast signals that
can be detected by anyone with a GPS receiver. By using the receiver
to measure the distances from a number of satellites simultaneously, a
user can precisely determine his or her location at any point on Earth
by a process akin to triangulation. GPS receivers are widely used in
cars, trucks, ships and airplanes all over the globe.
Location-based services using GPS have been difficult to implement
in mobile telephones because the weak signals are difficult to detect
indoors, inside moving vehicles and other environments where mobile
phones are commonly used. Even outdoors, a mobile phone's traditional
GPS receiver can take several minutes to receive satellite navigation
data and compute an accurate position. The technique of assisted GPS
uses the cellular connection to transmit the remotely collected
satellite navigation data from the basestation to the mobile phone,
allowing the user to pinpoint his exact position in only seconds.
Thus, A-GPS and the unique signal processing of the Hammerhead chip
result in unprecedented speed and sensitivity.
"Assisted GPS is the superior technology for revenue generating
location-based services," said Donald Fuchs, Executive Vice President
of Business Development for Global Locate. "Users will rely on it for
emergency services, finding friends or family, gaming or simple
point-to-point navigation. Location-based services will provide value
to users and an additional revenue stream to mobile network
operators."
Availability and Pricing
Infineon and Global Locate expect to have samples available in the
first quarter of 2005. The price for the Hammerhead chip will be 6.50
Euros in quantities of ten thousand units.
About Global Locate
Global Locate, Inc. is a privately held company that provides
A-GPS products and services for wireless devices and networks.
Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., the company has sales offices in
the New York metropolitan area, Tokyo and Madrid. Its A-GPS product
suite includes the World Wide Reference Network(TM) (WWRN), A-GPS
Server(TM) and highly integrated Global Locate IndoorGPS(R) chipset.
Further information is available at www.globallocate.com.
About Infineon
Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor
and system solutions for the automotive and industrial sectors, for
applications in the wired communications markets, secure mobile
solutions as well as memory products. With a global presence, Infineon
operates in the U.S. from San Jose, Calif.; in the Asia-Pacific region
from Singapore; and in Japan from Tokyo. In fiscal year 2003 (ending
September 30, 2003), the company achieved sales of Euro 6.15 billion
with about 32,300 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the DAX
index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock
Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX). Further information is available at
www.infineon.com.
This news release is available online at
http://www.infineon.com/news/ and at www.globallocate.com/press.
Contact:
Infineon Technologies
Saswato Das, 212-529-1789 (U.S.A.)
saswato.das@infineon.com
Monika Sonntag, +49 89 234 24497 (Worldwide Headquarters)
monika.sonntag@infineon.com
Kaye Lim, +65 6840 0689 (Asia)
kaye.lim@infineon.com
Hirotaka Shiroguchi, +81 3 5449 6795 (Japan)
hirotaka.shiroguchi@infineon.com
Investor Relations, +49 89 234 26655 (EU/APAC) or
408-501-6800 (USA/CAN)
investor.relations@infineon.com
or
Global Locate, Inc.
Boaz Efroni Rotman, 408-371-0580
befroni@globallocate.com
