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Atheros: Atheros Enables the Connected Lifestyle With Innovative Wireless and Wired Technologies at COMPUTEX 2009


Published on 2009-06-01 18:37:14, Last Modified on 2009-06-01 18:39:23 - Market Wire
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TAIPEI, TAIWAN--(Marketwire - June 1, 2009) - COMPUTEX -- Atheros Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: [ ATHR ]), a global leader in innovative technologies for wireless and wired communications, is demonstrating its comprehensive portfolio of solutions for the WLAN, mobile WLAN, Bluetooth®, wireless Personal Area Networking (WPAN), GPS and Ethernet markets in its Technology Suites #2428, 2442 and 2445 at the Grand Hyatt Taipei during COMPUTEX 2009, June 2-6.

With the rapid growth of wireless applications that continue to raise the bar in consumers' work, as well as play, anytime connectivity is no longer simply nice to have, it is a must have requirement for vendor products. Atheros' innovative connectivity portfolio enables our customers to meet the expanding demand for "always connected" products that deliver high-performance, reliable experiences. Our COMPUTEX 2009 suites showcase our latest innovations that will enable our customers to differentiate their products and liberate consumers with the always connected lifestyle.

State-of-the-Art Wireless PAN Technologies

The industry's emerging PAN technologies are enabling connectivity to numerous wireless devices, anywhere, and Atheros is leading the way with its new wireless PAN innovations -- [ ROCm® Bluetooth 3.0 + High Speed ], and WLAN-based Direct Connect and [ AP Mode ] technologies.

The company will demonstrate its ROCm Bluetooth 3.0 + High Speed technology based on the new specification that combines the simplicity of Bluetooth's pairing and operation with the speed and energy efficiency of 802.11. The result is a dramatic increase of more than 10 times the user throughput over 'classic' Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR for connecting PCs, handsets and consumer electronics (CE) devices in wireless PANs. Atheros' demonstration of Bluetooth 3.0 + High Speed, featured at the Bluetooth SIG's recent launch of this technology, will be showcased at COMPUTEX 2009.

The company's AP Mode technology featured in the AR6002 allows handsets to function as virtual hotspots, connecting up to eight WLAN-enabled clients such as laptops, cameras and other smartphones to the Internet without an access point (AP) present. This innovative Atheros mobile WLAN technology significantly expands the functionality of dual-mode handsets by enabling a wide array of new applications for mobile users. Atheros will showcase the world's first handset to embed Atheros AP Mode, the [ docomo PRIME series™ NEC N-06A ], in its suite and demonstrate the AP Mode functionality.

Atheros will also showcase its Direct Connect WLAN technology for advanced peer-to-peer networking, which allows client devices such as PCs, cameras, MP3 players, wireless printers and set-top boxes to connect directly to other clients, without an AP. The result is a new class of peer-to-peer networking that is easy-to-use, fast and secure.

Market-Leading Ecosystem of 802.11n Solutions

Atheros continues to lead the WLAN market with its portfolio of 802.11n solutions featuring a comprehensive range of performance and feature design options for PCs, networking equipment and consumer electronics. The company will showcase the growing momentum of its MIMO-based [ XSPAN ]® family, the world's most widely adopted 802.11n solutions, which deliver up to 300 Mbps for advanced multimedia networking in a variety of leading end-products at COMPUTEX. Today, nine of the top 10 PC OEMs, 5 of the top 5 retail networking vendors, and nearly every major enterprise networking provider are shipping products featuring XSPAN.

Atheros XSPAN dual-band technology is prominent in a wide array of consumer electronics devices such as routers, media players, and set-top boxes. Its 802.11n solutions offer dual-concurrent networking in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, and will be demonstrated in Cavium Networks' new netHD low-latency, processor platform which delivers high-quality, 1080p60 wireless video transmissions to HD flat panel displays. This platform will be demonstrated in Cavium Network's private suite, #1038, at the Grand Hyatt Taipei.

Targeting value segments, [ Atheros' Align™ solutions ], based on the 802.11n single-stream specification, support up to 150 Mbps PHY rates for robust data networking. These designs provide a significant performance upgrade from legacy solutions while enabling enhanced performance and power efficiency. A wide array of products including netbooks and routers using Atheros Align technology will be on display in Atheros' suites at the show.

Atheros ROCm Design Momentum

The Atheros AR6002 high-performance chip is the industry's most energy-efficient mobile WLAN solution, featuring infrastructure-class throughput and AP Mode functionality. It is now being widely deployed in over 50 designs and is shipping in handsets from 4 of the top 5 manufacturers, including the newly launched Samsung Jack and Propel Pro models. The AR6002 is also featured in the world's best-selling portable game system, the Nintendo DSi, which is being demonstrated in the suite.

Atheros will demonstrate the pinpoint-accuracy of its AR1511 high-performance, single-chip GPS receiver and companion ORION 3.1 software. ROCm for GPS solutions have achieved tier-one design wins in several [ Mio and Magellan personal navigation devices ] (PNDs) that leverage Atheros' Assisted GPS (AGPS) technology, advanced parallel search and superior tracking sensitivity for unmatched navigation.

Atheros ETHOS™ Green Ethernet Technologies

Atheros will showcase its ETHOS technology portfolio of market-proven Gigabit and Fast Ethernet solutions. This growing family of high-performance switch, controller and PHY products for PC OEMs and networking equipment manufacturers are the most energy efficient Ethernet solutions on the market today.

Atheros will also demonstrate its ETHOS Automatic Power Savings (APS) features, which dynamically manage Ethernet connection power levels to deliver energy efficiency, unmatched by any competitor. The company will show its most energy-efficient Ethernet switch to date, capable of consuming less than 0.1W of power when a device is idle, and adjusting power usage for an extraordinary 97 percent power savings versus full-traffic operation.

To arrange a demonstration of Atheros' innovations at COMPUTEX, please contact Eric Cheong, senior director of sales, APAC at + 886 0933 026 685.

About Atheros Communications, Inc.

Atheros Communications is a global leader in innovative technologies for wireless and wired communications. Atheros combines its wireless and networking systems expertise with high-performance radio frequency (RF), mixed signal and digital semiconductor design skills to provide highly integrated chipsets that are manufactured on low-cost, standard complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) processes. Atheros technology is used by a broad base of leading customers, including personal computer, networking equipment and consumer device manufacturers. For more information, please visit [ http://www.atheros.com ] or send email to [ info@atheros.com ].

Atheros, the Atheros logo, XSPAN, Align, ROCm and ETHOS are trademarks of Atheros Communications, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the sole property of their respective owners.

NOTE ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including the features, benefits and performance of Atheros' products, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including, but not limited to, difficulties in the development of new and enhanced products, general economic conditions, the effects of competition and technological change, and the risks detailed in Atheros' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 2008 and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2009, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and in other reports filed with the SEC by Atheros from time to time. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. Atheros disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

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