SiRF Technology Teams with AMD to Deliver In-Vehicle Navigation, Productivity and Multimedia Entertainment Applications

    SAN JOSE, Calif.--Oct. 22, 2002--SiRF Technology, Inc. today announced that its SiRFstarIIt GPS chipset has been selected by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD -- NYSE:AMD) for the new AMD Alchemy(TM) Solutions Driver Information Reference Design Kit, a reference platform based on the AMD Alchemy Solutions Au1500(TM) processor. The platform allows automobile electronics manufacturers to develop navigation and multimedia consumer end-user systems more quickly and easily with highly accurate location capabilities. These systems will ultimately provide drivers with the convenience, safety, and enjoyment of sophisticated in-car navigation, telematics, productivity tools (such as phone connectivity, Web, and email access), and multimedia and entertainment.
    The Au1500 processor is part of the AMD Alchemy Solutions processor family of high-performance, low-power, high-integration system-on-a-chip (SOC) solutions. The processor family of products is optimized for personal connectivity devices such as Web tablets, navigation/telematics systems, and portable and wired Internet access devices. The new reference design brings together SiRF's industry-leading GPS technology with AMD's powerful, multimedia SOC solution based around a very high-performance MIPS(R) technology-compatible core supporting a variety of industry standard operating systems.
    As drivers require increasingly sophisticated entertainment and information systems, these platforms will require close integration between the central processing unit (CPU) and the GPS location technology, which enables navigation and telematics services. SiRF's SiRFstarIIt is built around the SiRFstarII 12-channel GPS core that has set the industry standard for navigation performance in challenging environments including urban canyons, where GPS receivers have obstructed views of the sky. It features host-based integration, allowing the user to share memory and computational resources between the host Au1500 processor and the GPS receiver, saving cost without sacrificing performance. Because SiRF and AMD have accomplished most of this integration, system designers can bring new products to market quickly.
    "GPS is a 'must-have' function for navigation and telematics systems, as consumers have consistently expressed strong demand for the ability to navigate and obtain information about where they are going, and what to do once they get there," according to Kanwar Chadha, founder and vice president of business development for SiRF Technology. "Our goal is to become the de facto GPS standard for such systems by working closely with top CPU providers like AMD to bring the applications consumers want to market quickly and efficiently."
    "The automotive market is moving to higher performance processors and system-on-a-chip solutions because drivers and their passengers are increasingly demanding applications that make driving easier and more enjoyable -- systems such as navigation, productivity, and entertainment," according to Phil Pompa, AMD's vice president of marketing for the Personal Connectivity Solutions Group. "As an industry leader, SiRF Technology was an obvious choice as our GPS chipset provider because the company's proven chipsets and software offer the high accuracy and flexibility we require."

    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.

    About AMD

    AMD is a global supplier of integrated circuits for the personal and networked computer and communications markets with manufacturing facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Asia. AMD, a Fortune 500 and Standard & Poor's 500 company, produces microprocessors, Flash memory devices, and support circuitry for communications and networking applications. Founded in 1969 and based in Sunnyvale, California, AMD had revenues of $3.9 billion in 2001. .

    Editor's notes:

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