World's First True Poly-Band Mobile TV and Radio Tuner

Mobile TV is fast being a BIG item in todays fast growing mobile market. I thought this was a very interesting for a variety of reasons but the low cost ($3.50) that OEMs have to pay should not have a dramatic effect on price of the final units...well, that is assuming the OEMs want to keep competitive.

I think that they have a terrific chance of success because they are the first company to come out with a product that addresses multiple standards (all of them at this time) in a very fragmented industry. I wish them well and am looking forward to seeing it.

UK Start-Up's Breakthrough Technology Enables OEMs To Design a Single Platform for Mobile TV and Radio - Independent of Standards or Regional Differences

Mirics Semiconductor, a new UK-based RF and mixed signal fabless semiconductor company operating in the mobile broadcast receiver market, launches the MSI001, the world's first poly-band tuner for mobile digital broadcast reception. The breakthrough device is a universal broadcast receiver that enables designers of mobile phones, portable media players and PDAs, to easily add mobile broadcast reception to support any global standard. MSI001 has the lowest power consumption and highest performance of any mobile broadcast receiver currently available. At $3.50 (10,000units) the MSI001 is also the lowest cost. Unusually for a start-up company, Mirics has working samples of the MSI001 available immediately, which are already being trialled by key OEMs.

The breakthrough MSI001 chip is the most technically advanced product of its type, capable of receiving all broadcast standards announced to date, including DVB-H, T-DMB, ISDB-T, DAB-IP, MediaFlo, DAB, DRM and even AM/FM. Mirics also designed the MSI001 to be configured for the reception of other standards, or unknown future standards, without any cost or performance penalty. An example of this flexibility is the impending release of the Chinese MDTV standards. The MSI001 was designed before these standards were announced, yet it supports them through a configuration option.

The device provides coverage for all major broadcast bands ranging from 100KHz -1.9GHz (covering LW/MW/SW, L-Band and VHF Bands II, III, and UHF Bands IV and V). MSI001 also has the lowest power consumption of any tuner announced to date - for example using a mere 46mA in continuous DVB-H operation in the L-Band.

Mirics has a strong silicon development team with world-leading RF technology, wireless/algorithms, IP, silicon delivery and system architecture experience, and the skills to lead the mobile broadcast receiver market. The company has the backing of Europe's largest early-stage technology fund, Pond Venture Partners.

Mirics has a focused strategy, business vision and product roadmap. Following the launch of MSI001, Mirics will be announcing details of a breakthrough mobile broadcast technology in Q4 2006, with a related key product planned for launch in Q1 2007.

Simon Atkinson, CEO, Mirics comments: "The mobile broadcast market is extremely fragmented by multiple standards and band allocations. To date, companies have typically focused on supporting one or two of the multitude of standards. This fragmentation has been identified as the principal bottleneck to the wider adoption of mobile broadcast technologies; the small volumes available for any handset supporting a single standard do not justify its development."

Atkinson continues: "The multi-standard TV tuner has been heralded as the 'holy grail ambition' for mobile handset design and is a key development target for our competitors for the next 12 months. Unlike our competitors, Mirics is delivering this technology today, in the form of working silicon which is available to sample now. MSI001 supports all current digital terrestrial broadcast standards, and analogue radio, across all terrestrial broadcast bands. It also has the lowest cost implementation and highest performance of any mobile broadcast receiver currently available."

Mike Gera, Pond Ventures comments: "Mirics is well positioned to gain an important first mover advantage in the rapidly emerging mobile broadcast receiver market. It has the perfect blend of industry experience, innovative talent, a breakthrough technology and a large and growing target market. We have high expectations for its success."


You can visit Mirics here.

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