Broadcom Demonstrates Android(TM) Support Across Its Wireless Connectivity Products

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced that it will be demonstrating support for the Android™ operating system across many of its wireless connectivity solutions at next week's 2010 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. As a key supplier of wireless connectivity technologies, such as Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi® and GPS, Broadcom's support for the Android open OS will help drive these key wireless capabilities into increasing numbers of handset devices as Android gains broader adoption in the industry.

Highlights/Key Facts:

• The Android open OS has emerged as a key technology component that is driving the proliferation of advanced functionality in increasingly affordable handset devices, with industry analyst Gartner estimating that nearly one in six smartphones will be based on the Android OS by 2013.
• Android smartphones offer all of the advanced connectivity features as phones based on other operating systems. Nearly 100 percent of smartphones sold today offer Bluetooth, GPS and Wi-Fi, and these wireless connectivity technologies are helping to drive the popularity of Android-based phones.
• Broadcom® Bluetooth software is among the most prevalent in the industry, making available the broadest range of popular profiles such as Object Push, File Transfer and Phonebook Access, as well as support for Bluetooth 3.0 features including high-speed connectivity. The Broadcom software stack features Bluetooth profiles for Android that are not available elsewhere and employs the same application interface design as existing BlueZ profiles to ensure a consistent experience across Android phones for both the consumer and the application development community.
• Broadcom, a member of the Open Handset Alliance, offers strong support for Android in its Wi-Fi products, with its OneDriver™ software stack among the most mature in the industry including source code that is part of the generic Android distribution. OneDriver software, which includes Bluetooth 3.0 + HS support, is bundled with Broadcom's Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo chip solutions, and its Android drivers reliably bring key emerging features to Android-based phones. These advanced features include:
  • Support for Wi-Fi Direct -- the forthcoming standard that allows smartphones and other Wi-Fi devices to connect to one another for transferring large files or for streaming digital media without the need for a wireless access point.
  • Support for WAPI -- the Chinese security protocol that enables OEMs to address the growing market for Internet connected handsets in China.
  • Support for 'Soft Access Point' – which allows the Wi-Fi component in a client device (such as a notebook computer or smartphone) to function as an access point enabling connectivity sharing with other devices.
• Broadcom supports Android for its GPS receivers, including its industry leading navigation solution, full control plane and user plane protocol stacks, and tightly integrated hybrid location services that offer customers a complete location solution for handsets and other mobile devices based on Android.
• As part of the Mobile World Congress demonstrations next week, Broadcom is also showcasing Android support across a range of other solutions including:
  • The BCM4760 navigation processor to enable advanced personal navigation devices (PNDs) and other location-aware products.
  • Multi-chip Android support in a consumer multimedia tablet device based on the BCM11211 VoIP processor and leverages the BCM1181 for multimedia processing, the BCM4329 for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and the BCM4750 for GPS.
• Broadcom's support for Android also extends to its InConcert® technology which makes Bluetooth and Wi-Fi work better together in smartphones, notebooks, netbooks and other mobile devices. With the proliferation of Bluetooth 3.0 + HS and Wi-Fi Direct, InConcert and the new Maestro™ software platform ensure the smooth operation of each wireless technology and a less complicated user experience.

Supporting Quotes:

Robert A. Rango, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Broadcom's Wireless Connectivity Group

"Android continues to gain momentum as handset makers seek to offer smartphones and smart feature phones that integrate the key connectivity technologies demanded by today's connected mobile experience. Our support for Android in our key products is helping drive advanced connectivity options into imaginative new handsets based on this exciting platform."

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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®.

Broadcom is one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor companies, with 2009 revenue of $4.49 billion, and holds over 3,800 U.S. and over 1,550 foreign patents, more than 7,800 additional pending patent applications, and one of the broadest intellectual property portfolios addressing both wired and wireless transmission of voice, video, data and multimedia.  

A FORTUNE 500® company, 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 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 demand for wireless connectivity solutions in Android-based phones, our position in that market, and references to the impact of Broadcom's support for Android open OS on wireless capabilities included on handset devices.  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 adding open Android OS support to wireless connectivity solutions, but are not limited to:

• the rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt Broadcom's combination solutions for mobile devices;
• trends in the consumer electronics market 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; 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/Q12010.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, the pulse logo, Connecting everything, the Connecting everything logo InConcert, OneDriver™ and Maestro™ are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU.  Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Broadcom Corporation; BRCM Mobile & Wireless