CSR moves aggressively to meet burgeoning automotive customer demand for next-generation wireless connectivity

Telematics Detroit 2012, Novi, Michigan – 6 June 2012 – CSR plc (LSE: CSR; NASDAQ: CSRE) today announced availability of the CSR6030A11™, its most powerful and feature-rich automotive-qualified standalone Wi-Fi solution. CSR introduced the CSR6000™ family of automotive-grade platforms in April 2011 and, in close collaboration with automotive manufacturers, has since continued updating the company’s Wi-Fi solution to meet and exceed customer expectations. Representing a significant R&D investment, CSR’s new automotive Wi-Fi solution offers a number of significant advancements. In addition to improvements to the Wi-Fi performance, the CSR6030A11 offers “Concurrent Network Mode” – the capability to support Wi-Fi connectivity on two networks at the same time. In addition, CSR6030A11 is Wi-Fi Direct™ compliant, meaning that the CSR6030A11 can connect directly to other Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ Wi-Fi Direct™ devices without relying on a hotspot for that connection. These capabilities give system designers greatly increased flexibility in supporting a much greater range of network topologies and use cases within the rapidly-changing, in-car consumer communications and entertainment environment.

“We’ve been engaging with our automotive customers on this platform since 2009, and the introduction of the CSR6030A11 – our third-generation automotive Wi-Fi solution – shows our commitment to make the investments necessary to help them meet their customer requirements,” said Thomas Carmody, Head of Connectivity Marketing for CSRs Auto Business Group. “Automakers have been developing Wi-Fi strategies that will enhance consumer experience in the connected-car environment. The CSR6030A11 will meet the challenges of the demands that grow out of those Wi-Fi requirements and demonstrate our growing strength in supplying Wi-Fi to the automotive market.”

Concurrent Mode
Put simply, the CSR6030A11 is capable of providing Wi-Fi connectivity on two different Wi-Fi networks simultaneously, meaning that the same device is capable of acting as a Wi-Fi client on one network while serving as a Wi-Fi access point on another at the same time. The feature is set to improve the flexibility of wireless connections to and from in-vehicle systems: for example, with this feature, you can envisage smartphone tethering for Internet access to the head unit while at the same time that head unit can enable an in-vehicle Wi-Fi access point to deliver the smartphone’s Internet connection to a number of consumer electronics (CE) devices brought into the vehicle. Concurrent Network Mode supports legacy Wi-Fi client and access point roles but will also deliver the same functionality with Wi-Fi Direct enabled devices.

Wi-Fi Direct™
With Wi-Fi Direct, the CSR6030A11 includes a new connectivity standard poised to do for Wi-Fi enabled handset, consumer and other devices what the USB standard did for wired connections. Wi-Fi Direct means easy, simple connections and communication between wireless devices without worrying about the technical details or characteristics of any of these devices. Wi-Fi Direct enables easy, single-click connection and communication between devices for the exchange of everything from documents, music and video to diagnostic data –and more seamlessly, to and from in-vehicle systems.

Recent indications suggest that Wi-Fi Direct is positioned to become a de facto standard in the handset and CE space for device Wi-Fi interconnectivity: reports in the market about Wi-Fi Direct enabled devices suggest a CAGR of 79 percent between 2011 and 2015. By deploying Wi-Fi Direct in the CSR6030A11, CSR is enabling automakers to plan ahead for the anticipated explosion of Wi-Fi Direct enabled devices.

CSR Synergy™
In addition to the exciting new features outlined above, and as a result of continuous testing and investigation of Wi-Fi solutions, CSR has also managed to introduce optimisations in the CSR6030A11 firmware and Synergy Wi-Fi host software which has led to a 15 percent increase in Wi-Fi performance over and above the previous CSR6000™ solutions. Improvements in Wi-Fi performance are always welcomed by the user as they increase the performance of the expanding, data intensive, in-vehicle Wi-Fi use cases.

Availability and pricing
The CSR6030A11 will be available in mass production volumes in July. Please contact your CSR representative for further information on pricing.

Notes to Editors
•   The CSR6000 family supports all major automotive operating systems, including Linux®, Android, QNX® and Windows® Automotive.
•   CSR6030A11 is a “drop-in” replacement for earlier generations of CSR6000 products offering pin-for-pin compatibility while adding new, advanced features.
•   CSR’s Synergy embedded Bluetooth software stack has been updated to support all the new features available in the CSR6030A11. For more information about Synergy, see http://www.csr.com/products/19/csr-synergy

Visit the CSR booth at Telematics Detroit 2012 (Stand 44) to see a demonstration of location, audio and connectivity products for the automotive industry powered by CSR.

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