SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 8, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Privately held Global Locate Inc. (www.globallocate.com), a leader in Assisted-GPS (A-GPS) semiconductor products and services, today announced the availability of an A-GPS reference design based on Freescale Semiconductor's popular i.MX31 applications processor and Global Locate's Hammerhead(r) assisted GPS chip.
Specifically designed for wireless portable products, Hammerhead's patented signal processing techniques and host-based architecture re-utilize existing resources in the i.MX31 applications processor resulting in significant cost reduction, sensitivity of -160dBm and position fix times as fast as one second. Hammerhead is the world's first single die CMOS A-GPS receiver, combining LNA, RF Tuner, PLL and baseband functions in the same IC.
The Freescale reference design is available for Linux(r) and Microsoft Windows(r) operating systems, and is designed to optimize high performance and low power navigation in the most challenging conditions, such as deep urban canyons where multipath exists and low signal environments where signal detection is difficult. An easy-to-use API supports standard interfaces such as NMEA and extended NMEA, which is designed to allow portable electronics manufacturers to quickly load a range of mapping and navigation applications on top of the pre-integrated software drivers.
"As a result of its high performance and low power architecture, the i.MX31 applications processor is being adopted in a broad range of wireless devices," noted Don Fuchs, executive vice president of business development at Global Locate. "Global Locate is very pleased to partner with worldwide semiconductor leader Freescale and bring best-in-class navigation performance to the next-generation of PNDs, PMPs, PDAs and other portable electronic devices featuring i.MX processors."
"Designing Global Locate's A-GPS software and state-of-the-art chips into our i.MX multimedia platforms enables consumer electronics manufacturers to significantly reduce their engineering efforts, lower their bill of materials and shorten time to market for advanced feature rich navigation devices," said Berardino Baratta, general manager of the Multimedia Applications Division for Freescale, "Prices for portable navigation devices continue to fall, fueling tremendous market growth. This reference design strengthens Freescale's portfolio, positioning us to become a dominant solutions supplier for portable GPS systems."
Evaluation and development kits for the reference design based on the i.MX31 applications processor are expected to be available from Freescale in the second quarter of 2007.
About Global Locate, Inc.
Global Locate, Inc. is a privately held company that provides GPS semiconductor products and software for Mobile-phones, Personal Navigation Devices and Networks. The company has more than 160 U.S. & Foreign patents issued or pending, relating to GPS and Assisted GPS (AGPS) technology and its product suite includes Hammerhead(tm), the world's first commercial single die GPS receiver. The company is headquartered in San Jose, with offices in the New York metropolitan area, Tokyo, Taipei and Madrid. For more information see www.globallocate.com
Global Locate, IndoorGPS, WWRN and LTO are trademarks of Global Locate, Inc.