Trimble and u-Nav Offer High Performance, Low Power GPS Chipset Solutions

With SiRF's success in the low power, high accuracy GPS chipsets, everyone seems to be announcing new low power chips! Trimble introduced today the first software license product in the TrimCore(TM) family of Trimble core Global Positioning System (GPS) software technology. With this introduction, Trimble has transformed its extensive experience in GPS software and receiver development into innovative licensed software positioning products. TrimCore is an evolutionary software approach to segmenting GPS into modular, reusable building blocks that more closely meet customer resource requirements to implement GPS -- whether it is on Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), microprocessors or GPS chipsets.

In addition, Trimble and u-Nav Microelectronics announced today that the TrimCore GPS Navigation Engine (NE) software technology is available for the u-Nav GPS chipset family, starting with the uN9018 chipset and continuing through to u-Nav's single monolithic GPS IC. TrimCore NEu is the first software GPS licensed product offering from Trimble as part of an alliance with u-Nav. This combined solution is expected to be a low power, high performance and cost-effective GPS product for portable electronic manufacturers. As part of the combined solution, Trimble will be licensing its GPS software and providing technical support and training to customers using the combined chipset and software solutions.

Trimble and u-Nav will be showcasing the combined GPS solution at CeBit, the world's largest trade fair for digital IT and telecommunication solutions, March 9-15 in Hanover, Germany.

TrimCore NEu and u-Nav GPS ICs allow customers to easily integrate GPS location and navigation capabilities into their products. TrimCore software technology in conjunction with u-Nav's IC expertise provides extremely fast startup times and high performance positioning in foliage and urban canyon environments. In addition, Trimble's new module product, the Copernicus(TM) GPS receiver is based on TrimCore NE and the u-Nav uN9018 GPS ICs.

u-Nav's all CMOS semiconductor platform permits an extremely small, low- power and low-cost GPS architecture with outstanding performance. u-Nav's uN9018 and new single monolithic GPS IC target cellular handsets, PDAs, watches and other portable consumer and enterprise electronics products. The u-Nav GPS ICs and reference designs require very little space. Consuming less than 60mW in a continuous GPS tracking mode, TrimCore NEu and the u-Nav silicon enable a new generation of battery-powered GPS products.

"The u-Nav silicon provides an ideal host for the TrimCore GPS software. We are working with u-Nav to bring this bundled offering to markets that require outstanding performance coupled with very low power consumption and production cost," said Dennis Workman vice president and general manager of Trimble's Component Technologies Division.

"Trimble's proven leadership in GPS has continued to drive the industry for over two decades, setting the standard for functionality and performance. The integration of their leading-edge TrimCore GPS software and our advanced chipset architecture provides customers a higher level of differentiation and the capability to introduce new location-based products and services," said Russ Garcia, President and CEO of u-Nav.

The TrimCore NEu software is available from Trimble for licensing with software and reference design delivery expected in the second quarter of 2006.

March 8, 2006

Trimble and u-Nav Offer High Performance, Low Power GPS Chipset Solutions