SiRF Partners with NEC to Accelerate GPS Technology Penetration for Automotive Markets; NEC's first SiRFstar GPS Powered Product Will Sample in Q3

    SAN JOSE, Calif. & DUSSELDORF, Germany--Feb. 6, 2002--SiRF Technology and NEC Electronics (Europe) have announced a licensing agreement to integrate SiRF's GPS technology into NEC's integrated circuits (ICs) optimized for the automotive marketplace. The partnership will yield high-performance ICs with the level of integration required by next generation multimedia navigation systems. This degree of integration will drive down the cost and footprint of GPS, enabling automobile navigation to become standard equipment in all cars, not just in luxury automobiles.
    NEC will integrate SiRF's high-performance SiRFstar II(R) GPS baseband core to location-enable its next generation of Application Specific Standard Products (ASSP) initially targeted at the automotive marketplace -- the largest market for GPS.
    "The choice of GPS technology vendor was an easy one because SiRF's architecture is the architecture of choice for major automobile electronics manufacturers. Furthermore, its IP core is highly portable into our designs. SiRFstar II architecture's high performance for satellite signal acquisition and location accuracy and its proven track record are very important for automobile customers," according to Thomas Hase, manager product marketing at NEC Electronics Europe.
    "Our IP licensing agreement with NEC is in line with our strategy to partner with major semiconductor companies with inroads into our target markets, such as automotive and wireless," said Kanwar Chadha, founder and vice president of SiRF Technology, Inc. "NEC is a leader in semiconductor products for the automotive market, with a history of quality and innovation. Together, we feel this partnership will help development of more cost effective navigation systems thus bringing benefits of location technology to mainstream consumers."

    NEC's navigation companion chip

    NEC's first application for the technology will be a low cost navigation companion chip, incorporating an ARM7TDMI core with on-chip GPS navigation satellite reception and signal preprocessing capability for a host CPU. Samples of the chip will be available from Q3 with volume production likely by the end of the year. NEC will also be developing other (non-automotive) applications, based on the SiRFstar GPS technology, in the near future.

    SiRFstar II architecture and IP Core

    The SiRFstar II architecture provides complete GPS functionality with the high performance necessary for applications such as automobile navigation, in which fast start-up, high fix density and accuracy in obscured sky environments is crucial. With its unique set of features such as SnapStart(TM) for quick start-up, SnapLock(TM) for fast acquisition and FoliageLock(TM) for high sensitivity, the SiRFstar II architecture provides enhanced GPS-based location information in urban canyons and dense foliage -- where traditional GPS architectures fall short. The SiRFstar II baseband IP core provides a library of modular and portable building blocks, along with a complete set of tools, to enable easy integration into customer designs. SiRF is also developing technology implementations to facilitate and optimize GPS integration into specific platforms, such as automobiles, cell phones and personal digital assistants.

    About NEC Electronics (Europe) GmbH

    NEC Electronics (Europe) GmbH, headquartered in Dusseldorf, Germany, is a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of semiconductor products in Europe. Committed to meeting customers' cost, performance and time-to-market requirements, the company offers solutions ranging from standard products to system-on-a-chip (SOC) solutions, as well as customized products for next-generation designs. NEC Electronics also offers customers the benefit of state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Ireland, and the global manufacturing capabilities of its parent company, NEC Corporation. For more information, please visit the NEC Electronics web site at: www.ee.nec.de.

    This press release is available from EML's web site on http://www.eml.com.

   For information about NEC Electronics contact:

   Andrea Rogers, NEC Electronics (UK) Ltd, Cygnus House, Linford
   Wood Business Centre, Sunrise Parkway, Linford Wood, Milton Keynes,
   MK14 6NP. Tel: +44-(0)1908 691133 Email: enquiry@euk.nec.co.uk

   For editorial information about NEC Electronics contact:

   David Marsden or Andrew Shephard, EML, The Albany Boathouse, 
   Lower Ham Road, Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, KT2 5BB. 
   Tel: +44-(0)20 8408 8000 Email: davidm@eml.com

    About SiRF

    SiRF Technology, Inc. develops and markets semiconductor and software products that are designed to enable location awareness in high-volume mobile consumer devices and commercial applications. Location awareness refers to the ability of a device to determine and make use of the information regarding its location. SiRF's products enable a range of devices to utilize GPS to detect location. They have been integrated into mobile consumer devices, such as automobile navigation systems, cellular phones, GPS-based mobile computing peripherals and handheld GPS navigation devices, and into commercial applications, such as property tracking devices and fleet management systems. SiRF markets and sells its products in four target markets: wireless handheld, automotive, mobile computing and embedded consumer applications. www.sirf.com

    Note to Editors: SiRF SiRFstar and the SiRF logo are registered trademarks of SiRF Technology, Inc. SnapLock, FoliageLock and SnapStart are trademarks of SiRF Technology, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. www.sirf.com.