CSR Launches World's First Bluetooth Solution Tailored to Consumer Electronics

Cambridge, UK - 7 January 2009 - CSR (LSE: CSR) today launched BlueCore Consumer CE700, the world's first Bluetooth device optimised for consumer electronics products. CSR's CE700 IC, together with Consumer BlueCore Session Manager (CBSM) software, provides the most cost effective and easy to integrate solution for digital TVs, hi-fis, DVD players, handheld games consoles, as well as health and fitness products. The CE700 combined with CBSM software enables the fastest time to market for integrating Bluetooth connectivity into consumer products; a typical design takes a matter of weeks. CSR will be giving demonstrations of the CE700 and CBSM at CES, Las Vegas from 8-11 January 2009.

Demand for Bluetooth connectivity in consumer electronic products such as hi-fis and TVs continues to grow as does applications in handheld games consoles. Initial consumer application areas for Bluetooth in this market include digital televisions and hi-fis for steaming music to stereo headphones or from an MP3 player or music phone, or Bluetooth enabled remote controls with functionality to answer calls in speaker-phone mode. Health and fitness application areas include streaming and storing data from blood pressure and heart rate monitors, weighing scales, pedometer and other equipment via Bluetooth to a user's mobile phone or PC to online medical records or health care providers.

Typically an application processor in a consumer electronics device is tailored to a specific task and does not have enough on-chip resource to run additional Bluetooth host software. CSR's CE700 and CBSM software is specifically designed tackle this problem and offers a quicker and lower cost alternative to current standalone Bluetooth chips. CSR's CBSM software acts as a thin control layer to allow a main host processor to control the Bluetooth functions of CE700 without using too much on-chip resource.

The BlueCore Consumer CE700 IC features an embedded RISC processor and CSR's on-chip Kalimba Digital Signal Processor (DSP). The powerful DSP enables designers to boost the functionality and performance of their products by adding superior audio enhancement and echo and noise cancellation technologies including CSR's proprietary Clear Voice Capture (CVC). The flexible CE700 device also integrates CSR's FastStream, a low latency high-quality music and voice CODEC which significantly reduces the latency of the audio link to avoid "lip-sync" issues when listening to music or watching videos using Bluetooth headphones. CSR's CE700 supports Bluetooth v2.1+EDR of the Bluetooth specification and will support the forthcoming Health Device Profile (HDP) expected in Q1 2009, for use in medical, health and fitness products.

Karen Parnell, Marketing Manager in CSR's Audio and Connectivity Business Unit commented, "BlueCore Consumer CE700 and CBSM provide consumer electronics designers with the first Bluetooth solution designed with their needs in mind: a cost effective, easy to implement solution for integrating Bluetooth. Whether it's for a digital TV, remote controls, handheld games consoles, or health and fitness monitors, the new CE700 and software package provides OEMs with the best solution to satisfy a growing demand for Bluetooth in consumer or heath and fitness products."

CSR's complete solution is available in Q1 2009 and includes BlueCore Consumer CE700, CBSM application software, a hardware development board and a software development kit (SDK).

More information can be found at http://www.csr.com/

More information about Bluetooth technology can be found on the SIG web site at http://www.bluetooth.com/

For further information, contact:

Alan Woolhouse - CSR Tel: +44 1223 692 689 - office aw@csr.com

David Marsden/Siobhan Gaffan - EML Tel: +44 208 408 8000 - office csr@eml.com