September 1, 2000

Cheap and easy
Single-chip Bluetooth implementations arrive

A key issue in the Bluetooth rollout centers on low-cost implementation versus maximum performance. Companies offering single-chip CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) products promote low cost and ease of deployment, while non-CMOS radio-chip partisans tout the better performance characteristics of a separate BiCMOS (bipolar CMOS) radio chip.

Among the first out of the gate in the single-chip arena is Cambridge Silicon Radio (CSR), which recently introduced a single-chip CMOS radio plus baseband. BlueCore01 requires a separate flash chip, but will be followed by a fully integrated BlueCore02 version at the end of this year and further super-integrated products later on.

CSR has partnered with Alcatel and Socket Commmunications, demonstrating a Bluetooth link between a notebook PC and a cell phone. The BlueCore01 IC is embedded in Alcatel's AirTouch GSM phone and Socket's CompactFlash plug-in card. CSR has also announced agreements with two Japanese module manufacturers, Alps Electric and Tochigi Mitsumi, which will produce modules for mobile phones and PCs.

—Margot Suydam