Texas Instruments (TI) today announced that the company's fifth generation Bluetooth solution has passed the qualification for Bluetooth specification v2.0 and enhanced data rate (EDR) by the Bluetooth SIG (Special Interest Group). TI's solution delivers the fastest version of enhanced data rate (EDR) to support speeds up to 3Mbps in a Bluetooth network for bandwidth intensive applications on 2.5G and 3G mobile phones, including faster downloads of MP3 files and digital photos.

TI also introduced the BlueLink platform name for its lineup of complete Bluetooth hardware and software solutions for mobile phones. The first solution in the family is BlueLink 5.0, which consists of the BRF6300 single-chip Bluetooth solution designed for easy coexistence with TI's mobile WLAN solutions and software for Bluetooth operation. The software includes TI's BlueLink Bluetooth Protocol Stack and all software required to work with TI's OMAP platform and GSM, GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA and UMTS chipsets. The BlueLink 5.0 solution qualified for Bluetooth specification v2.0 + EDR and is now sampling. (See: http://www.ti.com/bluelink_5)

"The market for Bluetooth networking in mobile phones is showing strong signs of growth, and we anticipate that up to 58 percent of mobile phones shipped worldwide by 2008 will include a Bluetooth connection. The coexistence of WLAN and Bluetooth will be key in the mobile phone of the future," said Brian O'Rourke, senior analyst with In-Stat.

"With advancements in enhanced data rates and ease of use, Bluetooth connectivity is becoming a must-have feature on handsets with manufacturers, operators and consumers," said Marc Cetto, general manager of TI's Mobile Connectivity Solutions business unit. "TI's BlueLink 5.0 platform is furthering TI's efforts in WLAN and Bluetooth coexistence and is leading the market in complete Bluetooth solutions for mobile handset manufacturers."

To speed manufacturers' time to market for Bluetooth enabled 2G, 2.5G and 3G mobile phones, the BlueLink 5.0 single chip uses TI's 90 nanometer (nm) advanced process manufacturing and DRP technology to deliver the industry's:

- Maximum Bluetooth Performance: Bluetooth v2.0 + EDR support with maximum throughput of speeds up to 3Mbps.

- Leading WLAN Coexistence: Improved coexistence and interoperability with WLAN through a shared antenna architecture and collaborative interface to TI's mobile WLAN solutions such as the WiLink 4.0 mobile WLAN platform. TI's WLAN-Bluetooth Coexistence Solution was introduced in 2003 and is included in 18 mobile devices in the marketplace today.

- Industry's Lowest Power Consumption: 100uA during critical in-use Bluetooth scenarios such as page and inquiry scan, which is three times lower than current solutions.

- Smallest Size: A 30 percent die size reduction over current solutions, greatly reducing board-space for a complete Bluetooth system.

- Low Cost: TI is able to provide the lowest cost solution through a reduced bill of materials (BOM). To speed development of Bluetooth enabled handsets, the BRF6300 single-chip is pin-to-pin compatible with TI's BRF6150 for fast upgrades, and delivers easy software migration from BRF6150 through similar software interfaces.

The BlueLink 5.0 solution is currently sampling. Mobile devices using TI's BlueLink 5.0 solution are expected to be on the market in the first quarter 2006.

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