Extended Systems Integrates CSR Chip Support Into Bluetooth Software; Device Driver for Cambridge Silicon Radio's Chip Provides Turnkey Development Platform

Business Wire, Feb 7, 2001

Business/High Tech Editors

STOCKHOLM, Sweden--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 7, 2001

Bluetooth Business Strategy Conference-- Extended Systems (Nasdaq:XTND), a leading provider of mobile data management and wireless connectivity solutions, today announced that its Bluetooth software development kit--XTNDAccess Blue SDK--now supports CSR's system-on-a-chip (integrated RF, baseband & microcontroller).

Together, the products provide manufacturers with a pre-qualified, turnkey development platform upon which to build robust, cost-effective Bluetooth products.

"By integrating the industry's leading Bluetooth software with a leading hardware platform, Extended Systems and CSR are helping manufacturers reduce development costs, shorten time-to-market, and apply strict compliance to Bluetooth's interoperability standards," said Steve Simpson, president and CEO of Extended Systems. "Working to support CSR's hardware is yet another example of how we are building alliances with industry leaders to help deliver practical Bluetooth applications."

"CSR's hardware and firmware combined with Extended Systems' software, provides a solid development platform that can be converted into a production design in a matter of weeks." explained Glenn Collinson, Marketing Director of CSR. "The fact that both offerings are qualified by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group helps cut the design, development and testing time, saving our customers money."

Integration Shortens Time-to-Market

Version 1.2 of XTNDAccess Blue SDK for embedded devices includes full support for CSR's hardware including compatibility with the latest production version of BlueCore01. This Bluetooth chip provides Version 1.1 draft release support for the Bluetooth specification, including over the air interface. Transport driver support includes UART Serial. Universal Serial Bus (USB) will be supported later this quarter when Windows support for CSR is released by Extended Systems.

About XTNDAccess Blue SDK

Extended System's embedded protocol stack, XTNDAccess Blue SDK, is designed for use in embedded devices such as cellular phones, PDAs, digital cameras, portable office equipment, industrial automation products and more. The product has been qualified by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) for more user profiles than any other competing product on the market. Profiles include: General Access, Serial Port, Object Push, Dial-up Networking, LAN Access, FAX, Cordless Telephony, Headset, and Intercom.

About XTNDConnect Blue SDK for Windows

Extended Systems also offers XTNDConnect Blue SDK for Windows--a complete suite of data management applications, a wireless toolkit, and core protocols designed to help Windows developers build innovative PC-based applications. Targeted at PC manufacturers and application developers, this software kit retrofits existing PCs with Bluetooth and maintains a consistent development platform once Microsoft incorporates Bluetooth into future versions of its operating systems.

About Bluetooth

For manufacturers eager to add wireless connectivity to their consumer electronics products, Bluetooth provides the potential to create a low-power, low-cost solution for networking mobile phones, PDAs, laptops, and printers. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), comprised of leaders in the telecommunications, computing, and network industries, is driving development of the technology and bringing it to market. Extended Systems was invited by SIG founder Intel to participate in Bluetooth working groups to help develop the original specifications for synchronization, object exchange and file transfer profiles. Extended Systems and CSR are both associate members of the Bluetooth SIG.

About CSR

CSR specializes in providing single chip radio devices to the global market for short-range radio communications, including Bluetooth. The company's mission is to create the most highly integrated radio devices available, fabricated using standard CMOS technology, to provide its customers with the low cost of ownership of high quality digital radio.

CSR was the first company to offer a fully integrated 2.4GHz radio, baseband and microcontroller Bluetooth solution on one CMOS chip, with its BlueCore(TM)01. CSR's BlueCore01 is the world's first system-on-a-chip Bluetooth solution. Together with the Flash ROM containing CSR's firmware it provides a fully compliant Bluetooth solution for data and voice communications. The design is optimised to require very few external RF components to facilitate a rapid design of the motherboard, and therefore the fastest time to market and lower overall cost. More information about CSR can be found on the web site at www.csr.com.

About Extended Systems

Extended Systems has licensed its Bluetooth software to over 60 individual customers in less than a year. These customers include companies such as Palm, 3Com, Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, Fujitsu, Xircom, Red-M, and Visteon, to name a few.

Extended Systems is a leading provider of mobile information management solutions that enable users to access, collect, synchronize, and print information on demand. The company's products include data synchronization and management software, short-range wireless connectivity products (Bluetooth and IrDA-compliant), and client/server database management systems with remote access capabilities. Extended Systems' customers and key relationships include 3Com, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Compaq, Motorola, Ericsson, Hewlett-Packard, Agilent, Sharp, NEC, and Toshiba.