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New Solutions from Broadcom Drive Bluetooth(R) Integration in Notebooks, Extending Leadership in Wireless-Enabled PCs

Posted on: Friday, 9 January 2009, 07:00 CST

LAS VEGAS, 2009 International CES, Jan. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today unveiled new solutions designed to further drive the adoption of Bluetooth(R) in notebook PCs and in the new class of netbooks. Broadcom introduced a single-chip Bluetooth solution that reduces PC manufacturing costs by up to 30 percent, and new IT Manager software that allows network administrators to control Bluetooth usage while closing security holes in enterprise environments. With these new products, Broadcom continues to extend its Bluetooth leadership in the PC segment by delivering innovative technology to PC manufacturers that provides the best radio performance and superior ease-of-use to enable the advanced wireless features that consumers demand.

The personal computer has become the digital hub of many homes. In addition to web browsing and e-mail, many consumers use their PCs as the central storage device for digital photos, videos, music and other media content. Bluetooth provides simple methods for connecting PCs with other devices to enjoy and share digital media, synchronize data and enhance other PC applications while eliminating the cords that connect peripherals. According to ABI Research, Bluetooth will be built into nearly two-thirds of laptops by 2010. As the market continues to grow, Broadcom is expanding its position as a leading supplier of Bluetooth for the PC industry, with key designs with nine of the top 10 PC OEMs.

New Products to Drive Bluetooth Adoption in PCs

Announced at this week's International Consumer Electronics Show is a new version of the Broadcom(R) BCM2070 Bluetooth 2.1 chip with enhanced data rate (EDR) technology that provides a more cost effective way for PC manufacturers to add wireless features to their mobile PC products. Utilizing 65 nanometer (nm) process geometry, the BCM2070 Bluetooth solution is optimized to reduce manufacturing costs and board space for today's smaller PCs, enabling notebook PC module designs that are less than 6.5mm wide.

The new version of the BCM2070 also offers serial flash memory, which is less expensive than parallel flash alternatives but enables enhanced firmware upgradeability -- a feature that is especially important for enterprise-class notebooks. In addition to its size and cost advantages, the new BCM2070 delivers Broadcom's proven performance to maintain strong connections between PCs and wireless peripherals.

Broadcom also announced its new IT Manager software that provides centralized control of Bluetooth applications and closes the security holes that have hindered Bluetooth adoption in enterprise notebooks. Using the software, network administrators can implement access policies and manage the use of Bluetooth in the enterprise environment. IT Manager enables employees to enjoy the benefits of Bluetooth to use wireless mice and keyboards, synchronize data between their PC and other devices, and stream multimedia content without jeopardizing the security of a corporate network.

IT Manager is a component of Broadcom's BTW Bluetooth software, which is the most widely adopted Bluetooth software for Windows(R)-based systems, enabling the industry's widest array of available Bluetooth applications for PCs. The latest release of Broadcom Bluetooth software, BTW 6.2, was selected as a finalist for the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) "Best of CES" award, with winners to be announced at this week's 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show.

"As consumers and enterprise users alike find great value in Bluetooth capabilities, Dell will pursue the innovations that make the technology more appealing and useable," said Frank Hanzlik, Director, Wireless Connectivity Group of Dell. "Broadcom's IT Manager uniquely gives IT organizations the control to remotely manage security properties and the types of devices that can be used with Bluetooth."

Broadcom's highly integrated silicon and industry leading software enable more wireless features in new device categories (such as netbooks and UMPCs), where size, power consumption and network manageability are even more critical than in larger systems. Analysts predict that annual shipments of netbooks and ultra mobile PCs will reach 35 million units by 2011 - all of which will offer both Wi-Fi(R) and Bluetooth capabilities(i).

"Asus strives to deliver a satisfying wireless user experience for our netbook/notebook computer customers, seeking best-in-class solutions to fulfill our exacting requirements," said S.Y. Shian, Vice President & General Manager of Asus's EeePC business unit. "We have adopted Broadcom's Bluetooth solution in our notebooks and leading netbook, the EeePC, because it delivers low power, small size and advanced features, which are the key factors we evaluate for next generation portable computers."

Broadcom InConcert(R) Wireless Solutions

Broadcom is the leading provider of both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi solutions, making it uniquely suited to supply the two technologies into mobile devices that incorporate both, while accommodating smaller and increasingly mobile PCs. Since Bluetooth and Wi-Fi operate in the same radio frequency band, opportunities for radio interference and degraded performance can become apparent. However, Broadcom's unique InConcert(R) architecture allows the two technologies to collaboratively co-exist within the same radio frequency allowing Broadcom Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chips to intelligently share the 2.4 GHZ frequency range, synchronizing transmissions to maximize throughput and performance for both standards. Whether Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are implemented as separate standalone chips, or as part of a combination chip solution on a single silicon die, Broadcom technology continues to provide the superior performance for a better user experience.

Availability and Pricing

The new BCM2070 version of this Bluetooth transceiver and IT Manager software are now sampling to early access customers. Pricing is available upon request.

About Broadcom

Broadcom Corporation is a major technology innovator and global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom products enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and throughout the home, the office and the mobile environment. We provide the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip and software solutions to manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices. These solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything(R).

Broadcom is one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor companies, with 2007 revenue of $3.78 billion, and holds over 3,000 U.S. and over 1,300 foreign patents, more than 7,500 additional pending patent applications, and one of the broadest intellectual property portfolios addressing both wired and wireless transmission of voice, video, data and multimedia.

Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and has offices and research facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Broadcom may be contacted at +1.949.926.5000 or at http://www.broadcom.com.

Cautions regarding Forward Looking Statements:

All statements included or incorporated by reference in this release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward- looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry and business, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us, all of which are subject to change. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," "would," "could," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. Examples of such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the number of laptops that will contain Bluetooth technology and anticipated annual shipments of netbooks and ultra mobile PCs. These forward- looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement.

Important factors that may cause such a difference for Broadcom in connection with Broadcom BCM2070 and IT Manager software include, but are not limited to

* the rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt Broadcom's Bluetooth technologies for mobile applications; * trends in the wireless networking markets in various geographic regions, including seasonality in sales of consumer products into which our products are incorporated, and possible disruption in commercial activities related to terrorist activity or armed conflict in the United States and other locations; * the gain or loss of a key customer, design win or order; * the volume of our product sales and pricing concessions on volume sales; * our ability to timely and accurately predict market requirements and evolving industry standards and to identify opportunities in new markets; and * competitive pressures and other factors such as the qualification, availability and pricing of competing products and technologies and the resulting effects on sales and pricing of our products.

Additional factors that may cause Broadcom's actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to the list that can be found at http://www.broadcom.com/press/additional_risk_factors/Q42008.php.

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, recent Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss the foregoing risks as well as other important risk factors that could contribute to such differences or otherwise affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. The forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of this date. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement, except as required by law.

Broadcom(R), the pulse logo, Connecting everything(R), the Connecting everything logo and InConcert(R) are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU. Bluetooth(R) is a trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc. Wi-Fi(R) is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Windows(R) is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

(i) According to ABI Research, October 2008 Broadcom Trade Press Contact Henry Rael Public Relations Manager 949-926-5734 hrael@broadcom.com Broadcom Investor Relations Contact T. Peter Andrew Vice President, Corporate Communications 949-926-5663 andrewtp@broadcom.com

SOURCE Broadcom Corporation; BRCM Mobile & Wireless

Source: PR Newswire

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