Infineon chips empower worldwide largest Bluetooth network

Hanover/Germany - March 16, 2001 – The BlueMoon solution from Infineon Technologies lays the groundwork for the world‘s largest Bluetooth network. In cooperation with lesswire AG, Deutsche Messe AG, Microsoft and Compaq, the LocalNavigator Bluetooth short range radio network is being created at CeBIT 2001 (March 22 – 28). PDAs (personal digital assistants) provide an easy and convenient way for CeBIT visitors to obtain information on exhibitors, their products and their booths.

“Infineon is the first semiconductor manufacturer to receive Bluetooth certification for its complete system solution and the only chip supplier that was capable of providing the performance requirements for the point-to-multipoint CeBIT network”, explained Dr. Ralph Meyfarth, CEO of lesswire AG.

The BlueMoon I chipset consists of two ICs, a versatile baseband IC and a highly integrated RF transceiver. The baseband IC integrates a program ROM containing the complete Link manager and HCI (Host Controller Interface) for lowest cost solutions as well as an external Flash memory interface for rapid prototyping and product adaptation. It supports both data and voice over the UART or voice over the PCM interface and its small outline makes it ideally suited for integration into portable devices. The transceiver integrates the full transmit and receive chains including the VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator), LNA (Low Noise Amplifier) and requires no external SAW (Surface Acoustic Wave) or ceramic filters. The excellent performance of the BlueMoon solution gives, at its output power of +4 dBm, a range of up to 100m. With the optional power amplifier PMB 6827 for Bluetooth power class 1 solutions, a range of up to 500m can be achieved.

In a 25,000 m² exhibition area in hall 13, CeBIT visitors can take advantage of the navigation and information range that the Bluetooth network has to offer. A total of 130 base stations have been installed in the ceiling of the hall.

Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions for applications in the wired and wireless communications markets, for security systems and smartcards, for the automotive and industrial sectors, as well as memory products. With a global presence, Infineon operates in the US from San Jose, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore and in Japan from Tokyo. In the fiscal year 2000 (ending September), the company achieved sales of Euro 7.28 billion with about 29,000 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the DAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX). Further information is available at www.infineon.com