Garmin Looks to SiRF for “Edge”
SiRFstarIII Powers Garmin’s Innovative Personal Training System for Cyclists
SAN JOSE, Calif., August 31, 2005 –SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRF), a leading provider of GPS-enabled location technology, today announced its flagship SiRFstarIII™ architecture is being used by Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), to provide GPS positioning capabilities for the Edge™, a new line of integrated personal training systems designed for recreational and advanced cyclists.
The Edge is the first Garmin device to incorporate SiRF’s flagship SiRFstarIII architecture. With its 200,000 correlators combined with sophisticated navigation algorithms, the SiRFstarIII architecture sets a new benchmark for fast and deep GPS signal search and track capabilities, making it possible to achieve very fast and robust positioning even through dense foliage and urban canyons.
“We are witnessing a tipping point in the GPS market as the perception of GPS shifts from an interesting high-tech novelty to a handy tool everyone can use every day,” said Kanwar Chadha, founder and vice president of marketing for SiRF. “Garmin’s adoption of SiRFstarIII architecture for a range of innovative products, such as Edge, is a major step forward towards our vision of being the core GPS technology provider to bring the benefits of location information to mainstream consumers.”
Employing a completely new design specifically for cyclists, the Edge 205, Edge 305HR and Edge 305CAD are compact, lightweight, waterproof units that monitor pedaling cadence, heart rate, vertical profiles, climb and descent, altitude, speed, distance and time. SiRF’s SiRFstarIII is designed to provide fast, accurate location data for all of the new Edge products. In addition, the Edge 205 relies on the SiRFstarIII for accurate altitude information. Because the Edge is GPS based, the information may be overlaid onto a cyclist’s course map, including hills and curves, making it easy for cyclists to analyze every aspect of their workout.
“The Edge features a customizable user interface making it ideal for any ride a cyclist takes – be it a relaxing weekend excursion or competitive race,” said Gary Kelley, Garmin’s vice president of marketing. “We’ve chosen SiRF’s highly sensitive architecture for the Edge so cyclists will maintain GPS reception when riding in areas with heavy foliage and urban canyon environments. We have been impressed with the SiRFstarIII’s performance in these challenging environments.”
About SiRF Technology Holdings
SiRF Technology, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc. and is a leading supplier of GPS enabled location technology for high-volume mobile consumer devices and commercial applications. SiRF’s technology has been integrated into mobile consumer devices, such as automobile navigation systems, mobile phones, PDAs, GPS-based peripherals and handheld GPS navigation devices, and into commercial applications, such as asset tracking devices and fleet management systems. SiRF markets and sells its products in four target platforms: automotive, consumer electronics, mobile computing and wireless devices.Founded in 1995, SiRF is headquartered in San Jose, California, and has sales offices, design centers and research facilities around the world. SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc. trades on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange under the symbol SIRF. Additional information about SiRF and its location technology solutions can be found at www.sirf.com.
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