CSR chip boasts GPS and FM

Aimed at mobile phone market

4 June 2008 15:28 GMT / By Katie Scott

CSR has annoucned a new Bluetooth chip which it claims could revolutionise the mobile phone market.

The seventh generation BlueCore Bluetooth chip offers integrated enhanced GPS and FM transmit and receive technologies.

For those of you in the know - the Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR radio actually delivers +10dBm transmit power and –91dBm receiver sensitivity.

But, in more general terms, the chip delivers reduced power consumption and improved voice quality, so, says CSR, reflects a boom in demand for in-car, handsfree, multi-capability devices.

CSR has used a voice codec, dubbed AuriStream, which is designed to cut power by 30% and also has built in on-chip speaker drivers that allow users to connect headphones directly to the device.

CSR explains: "BlueCore7 allows the Bluetooth and FM radios to work without interference, either independently or together to allow users to stream FM radio from a handset to a pair of Bluetooth headphones".

And the radio interface is designed for low power consumption.

CSR is hoping to woo the top five mobile firms with the chip.