RMI Corporation Partners With Atheros to Bring Complete Processing Solutions to PNDs, PMPs and...

RMI Alchemy Platform Targets Dynamic Consumer Electronics Markets With Atheros Industry-Leading Wi-Fi and Hosted GPS Solutions

CUPERTINO, Calif. & TAIPEI, Taiwan -- RMICorporation, a leading provider of High Performance Processor Solutions for Communications Infrastructure, Enterprise

and Media Rich Consumer Applications, today announced a collaboration with Atheros Communications, a leading developer of advanced semiconductor system solutions for wireless and wired communications, to provide complete WLAN and GPS-enabled processing platforms targeting personal navigation devices (PNDs), portable media players (PMPs) and digital entertainment products.

The RMI Alchemy[TM] and Atheros ROCm[R] joint reference design provides a complete platform for product developers to build advanced home and portable consumer electronics products, featuring navigation, audio, video and photo capabilities. The Alchemy Au1250[TM] media processor provides high-performance, processing capability designed to support a new generation of multimedia, full-featured consumer devices.

Atheros' AR6000 family of ROCm[R] for mobile wireless LAN devices provides platform advantages by delivering enterprise-class throughput, exceptional range and low-power Wi-Fi for mobile applications to support Internet connectivity and music and video downloads. For devices like PNDs and PMPs requiring advanced navigation functions, Atheros' hosted, single-chip, AR1511 receiver and its companion ORION 3.0 software deliver assisted GPS to enable fast fix times, and industry-leading receiver sensitivity to track satellite signals in even the most challenging environments. To simplify the product design process, Atheros' GPS solutions support Windows[R] Mobile CE with simple installation through the company's Install n Go[TM] software.

"The winning combination of RMI's Alchemy-based[TM] media processors with Atheros ROCm single-chip Wi-Fi and GPS solutions brings ease-of-use, in a comprehensive, turnkey platform, which reduces design times to meet the rapidly evolving needs of today's consumers," said Greg Winner, general manager of Atheros' GPS business unit. "Atheros is pleased to collaborate with RMI to develop high-performance solutions to support advanced features and extend battery life in compelling, next-generation devices."

"RMI is pleased to be working with Atheros to offer such a compelling solution to our customers," said Mike Wodopian, vice president and general manager, Media Processor Solutions, RMI. "Atheros' innovative technology and ability to offer a rich product portfolio enables us to concentrate on building high-performance processors with extremely low power while delivering tightly-coupled, comprehensive Wi-Fi and GPS solutions that our customers demand."