Atheros Demonstrates Innovative Mobile Connectivity at Mobile World Congress 2009

Atheros Communications, Inc., a global leader in innovative technologies for wireless and wired communications, is demonstrating its expanding mobile wireless connectivity portfolio, featuring its latest innovations for the WLAN, PAN and GPS markets at the 2009 Mobile World Congress, in Booth #2F37, ground floor Hall 2. Building on its broad adoption in the PC and networking equipment markets, Atheros is committed to delivering best-of-breed mobile technologies that uniquely benefit from its worldwide wireless technology ecosystem. The company is driving mobile wireless innovation by offering solutions with enhanced functionality combined with high-level integration and performance to help customers build differentiated products that deliver a great user experience.

The New-Generation AR6002 Wireless LAN for Mobile

The Atheros AR6002 sets the bar for mobile WLAN solutions, offering infrastructure-class wireless throughput, near-zero power consumption in standby mode and a remarkable 30 percent lower power consumption in active mode versus competitive solutions. The newest-generation Atheros AR6002 provides a significantly enhanced set of features including the industry’s only Soft AP capability for handsets, support for Android(TM) designs, and the combination of Atheros WLAN with Qualcomm’s Bluetooth connectivity, resulting from the companies’ collaboration. The company will demonstrate Atheros’ direct connect technology which supports Soft AP functionality for handsets, bringing new mobile capabilities to people-on-the go. With this unique feature, a mobile phone can easily share a 3G/4G connection with multiple WLAN-enabled PCs and client devices via its AR6002 radio. Atheros’ extensive portfolio of PC and networking solutions for 802.11n supports direct connectivity, and now ROCm mobile WLAN designs provide this soft AP feature, which enables the AR6002 to deliver dual-functionality as a client device as well as an AP. The Wi-Fi Alliance will demonstrate the device-to-device use case with Atheros’ solutions in their meeting room at Mobile World Congress.

Atheros will also unveil a new WLAN/Bluetooth connectivity platform, which combines Atheros’ AR6002 mobile WLAN solution with Qualcomm’s new BTS4025(TM) Bluetooth System-on-Chip (SoC). With this new solution, the companies are delivering best-in-class wireless system performance to OEMs and ODMs developing cellular phones based on Qualcomm’s Mobile Station Modem(TM) (MSM(TM)) chipsets for CDMA and WCDMA.

The AR6002 now also features support for Android-based CDMA and WCDMA handset designs. Atheros is currently delivering its world-class mobile WLAN performance to Android platforms with several handsets currently in development and scheduled to launch in the second half of 2009. With the November launch of Nintendo’s DSi, Atheros’ AR6002 is now rocking the gaming world with its market-leading throughput, reliable coverage, and the industry’s lowest power consumption. With the AR6002, latency-free, real-time wireless gaming is a reality. Come experience the best in mobile gaming at our booth with the new ROCm-enabled, Nintendo DSi.

ROCm Precision GPS

Atheros will demonstrate unmatched navigational accuracy with the AR1511 single-chip receiver and ORION 3.0 software, the company’s latest complete assisted GPS solution, which employs its patent-pending advanced parallel search to deliver rapid fix times, even in the most challenging environments. This high-performance AGPS solution is currently being designed into personal navigation devices by leading manufacturers and is also the ideal solution for applications in PCs and personal media players. “Atheros continues to take mobile connectivity to the next level by bringing new innovations to our customers like the world’s only Soft AP technology for handsets,” said Amir Faintuch, vice president and general manager of Atheros’ Mobile Business Unit. “Atheros’ industry-leading ROCm portfolio of wireless technologies delivers uncompromised performance and unique functionality that enables real product differentiation in any mobile device, from cell phones to personal navigation products and gaming devices, enhancing the user experience.”