Broadcom's product achieves Bluetooth 2.1 specification

CALIFORNIA, US: Broadcom Corporation, player in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced that its popular Bluetooth(R) silicon and software are the first solutions to be qualified for the new Bluetooth Version  specification, as determined by the Bluetooth Qualification Board (BQB).

By supporting the recently-ratified standard, the Broadcom(R) BCM2046 Bluetooth transceiver simplifies the set-up of mobile phones and other Bluetooth products, while improving the overall user experience with longer battery life and stronger security. The BCM2046 is now the only Bluetooth Version 2.1 solution that supports enhanced data rate (EDR) technology and offers a high-performance Class 1 radio.

"The Bluetooth 2.1 specification is an important milestone that will invigorate the Bluetooth market with revolutionary wireless applications," said Scott Bibaud, Vice President and General Manager of Broadcom's Bluetooth line of business.

"Designed with the future in mind, our latest solution combines Bluetooth 2.1 features with other advanced features to enable a new generation of devices with enhanced Bluetooth capabilities."

The BCM2046, Broadcom's latest single-chip Bluetooth transceiver, leverages EDR technology and superior receive sensitivity to provide exceptional wireless multimedia capabilities (such as audio and video streaming) for mobile phones, notebook and desktop computers, PDAs and peripheral devices. Although Broadcom achieved the Bluetooth 2.1 qualification today, its solutions have offered features of the new specification since 2006, including:

      *  Extended inquiry response (EIR) to speed up the discovery process;

      *  Encryption pause/resume (EPR) to fix security holes;

      *  Sniff subrating to enable significantly longer battery-life;

      *  Secure simple pairing to provide maximum protection against

         eavesdropping.

While the BCM2046 transceiver complies with the new Bluetooth 2.1 specification, it is also backward-compatible with prior Bluetooth versions. As the wireless ecosystem continues to grow, it is critical that all Bluetooth devices can communicate with one another regardless of their underlying technology.

Software is another key aspect of the expanding Bluetooth ecosystem. Having shipped hundreds of millions of Bluetooth products, Broadcom distinguishes its solutions with a mature software stack and the industry's most extensive library of Bluetooth profiles. When combined with BCM2046 silicon, Broadcom's BTW (Bluetooth for Windows), Bluetooth Embedded (BTE)- Mobile and BTW-CE software provides OEMs with a flexible and complete technology platform that can enable a wide range of Bluetooth applications.

Bluetooth Version 2.1 Qualification Information

Version 2.1 of the Bluetooth specification was formally approved by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) on July 30, 2007. Once the Bluetooth SIG adopted Version 2.1 of the specification, the BQB began accepting products for review and qualification based on the new standard. Broadcom's reference design, incorporating the BCM2046 and BTE software, was among the first solutions to achieve BQB qualification and continues to fulfill all requirements for V2.1-compliance.

Benefits of EDR Technology

Responding to a need for a higher bandwidth version of Bluetooth (as defined by the Bluetooth SIG), EDR triples total bandwidth to three Megabits per second (Mbps) with a maximum data throughput rate of up to 2.1 Mbps. Electronic devices with Bluetooth EDR can transfer multimedia files, such as music or video clips, up to three times faster than previously possible and use significantly less power by cutting the amount of time the transceiver is active. EDR technology also extends the range of Bluetooth devices and improves coexistence with other radio technologies, such as Wi-Fi(R).