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The Business: Broadcom Introduces PND on a Chip
July 1, 2009 GPS World
» MASS MARKET OEM
Broadcom Introduces PND on a Chip
Broadcom has released what it calls “the first PND on a chip,” a new navigation processor and power management unit (PMU) designed for personal navigation devices (PNDs). The BCM4760 system-on-a-chip (SoC) includes a GPS baseband, radio frequency (RF) circuitry, low noise amplifier (LNA), and high-powered applications and graphics processors to drive 3D user interfaces.
By integrating many of the necessary, and costly, external components required for a competitive product, Broadcom aims to afford PND manufacturers the ability to create engaging 3D graphical user interfaces (GUIs), accelerating map-rendering and eliminating lags and blocky renderings of many current devices. Marketing Director Dave Murray characterized it as “a more spectacular and interactive GUI,” now capable of 10 updates per second, as opposed to one update per second that has been the norm.
The BCM4760 is a low-power SoC that combines a high-performance GPS receiver and baseband, an ARM11 processor, an OpenGL ES 1.1/OpenVG 1.0-compliant graphics processor, and analog technology in a built-in applications processor powerful enough to serve as the core for a full range of devices beyond the PND market, including personal media players, gaming devices and other mobile products. A 65-nanometer chip carrying an audio codec, touch screen controller, and USB 2.0 controller with high-speed transceiver, all on a single die, it provides integrated support for Broadcom’s other technologies including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and combo-chip solutions.
A fabless semiconductor company with 2008 revenue of $4.66 billion headquartered in Irvine, California, Broadcom acquired GPS chipmaker Global Locate in June 2007. Broadcom stated it planned to combine Global Locate’s GPS technology with its own Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cellular technologies, and supply that combination to mobile handset makers.
PNDs and MIDs. Despite the relative slackening in the PND market foreseen by some analysts, Broadcom remains committed to it and seeks to “create new pricepoints in the PND marketplace” — presumably to stimulate demand. Murray stated that while the 4760 could potentially be used in a smartphone, such products would probably prefer combo chips that Broadcom also produces, rather than ones with application processors.
He spoke of the rise of mobile internet devices, or MIDs, which the 4760 suits. Hybrids between smartphones and small laptops, the MIDs are a new category of mobile devices for both business and consumer users, also called touch tablets. Video- as well as positioning-enabled, these devices do not currently perform both functions simultaneously, although they could. Only the content is lacking. But Murray sees that as a soon-to-develop field.
According to the company, its BCM4760 enables system manufacturers to create a platform meeting the needs of the entry-level, mid-level, and high-level GPS PND market segments. The BCM4760 and BCM59040 are now sampling.
» SURVEY & CONSTRUCTION
Applanix Introduces Flight Management and Direct Georeferencing System
Applanix of Richmond Hill, Canada, has introduced the POSTrack 410 flight management and direct georeferencing system for medium-format airborne digital photogrammetric cameras to maximize the efficiency and productivity of airborne mapping, the company said.
POSTrack has a built-in POS AV GNSS-Inertial Navigation System (INS) for direct georeferencing of airborne images. Flight management features include mission planning, pilot guidance, automatic stabilized mount control, and automatic camera triggering at pre-planned intervals. The POS AV features include in-air initialization, leveling of stabilized mounts, automatic drift correction, GNSS position translation using encoder data from stabilized mounts, and generation of exterior orientation of each image for the mapping process.
» LOCATION-BASED SERVICES
SpotOn GPS Platform Enables LBS Ad Delivery
TechnoCom Corporation has launched a mobile advertising and marketing content-delivery platform, SpotOn GPS, providing comprehensive turn-by-turn navigation, search, and mapping. A white-branded mobile platform, SpotOn GPS represents the first U.S. offering of advertising/marketing integrated with navigation. The sweet spot is the added revenue stream it provides to affinity groups, brands, and — most important of all for the future of location-based advertising (LBA) and location-based services (LBS) — wireless carriers.
A hosted solution, SpotOn GPS delivers ads to the cell-phone handset as part of a navigation/local search platform. It delivers customizable interactive and location-aware advertising, offers, coupons, and loyalty-building promotional messages. According to TechnoCom, it increases the effectiveness and reach of advertising and promotional messaging by presenting it to consumers at select times, in the right places, close to points of sale — enhancing the return on investment from mobile advertising dollars.
SpotOn GPS has the potential to reach a wide range of end-users with access to international local search databases, and text- and voice-prompted instructions in 13 languages, with more being added.
“Early evidence suggests LBA yields significantly higher conversion rates with direct response modes, such as click-to-locate and click-to-navigate, compared to nonlocation- based advertising,” says ABI Research practice director Dominique Bonte. “LBA and navigation are a winning combination, mutually reinforcing each other. For the end-user, ad-funded navigation represents a highly valued balance between exposure to advertising and access to reduced cost, or potentially free, navigation, thus driving adoption of both.”
According to TechnoCom, groups that are defined by a membership or community are in excellent position to brand their own navigation offering and participate in the flexible revenue streams offered by SpotOn GPS. Affinity groups often have partners that they want to cross-promote — so there is no need to go find ads. Affinity groups such as airline mileage-rewards programs, shopping clubs, or travel clubs can offer search listings of their inventory, suppliers, and partners.
A turn-key solution, SpotOn GPS is designed for fast deployment, with service launch within 60 days of contract signing. Worldwide rich-mapping options include street maps, 3-D map views, and satellite images. Location-specific traffic and weather are also offered.
» MASS MARKET OEM
SiRFatlasIV Processor for Low-Cost Navigators
Targeting an emerging class of location-centric devices for budget-conscious consumers, SiRF Technology Holdings has introduced the SiRFatlasIV multifunction location system processor for creating high-volume, navigation, and location-aware products. The SiRFatlasIV platform — available now in production quantities — is designed to minimize bill of materials (BOM) and overall system cost while giving manufacturers the premium location and multimedia performance they need to create innovative, value-priced consumer products.
“We believe multifunction, location-centric consumer devices are best served by multifunction location silicon and software platforms,” said Kanwar Chadha, founder and vice president of marketing for SiRF. “The compelling cost/performance benefits of our SiRFatlasIV solution enable our customers to profitably address these high-volume consumer markets without compromising the location performance consumers have come to expect from SiRF. Together, our SiRFatlas and premium SiRFprima multifunction system platforms enable SiRF’s customers to offer a complete range of location-centric products.”
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