Atmel Cortex-M3 Flash MCU Selected by Xirgo Technologies for Next-Generation Asset Tracking Platforms

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Atmel® Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML), a leader in microcontroller- and touch-based solutions, today announced that Xirgo Technologies, LLC has selected Atmel's Cortex®-M3-based product family for its next-generation enhanced-battery-life asset tracking platform. Xirgo Technologies' existing machine-to-machine communications devices are used by leading companies in automotive insurance, fleet tracking, vehicle financing, and dealer lot inventory verticals. Xirgo is targeting its next-generation platform, designed to address the long battery life requirements of portable tracking solutions, for the emerging cargo and package tracking verticals. Atmel's Cortex-M3-based Flash microcontrollers offer increased processing power and enhanced power efficiency necessary for on-device application support to substantially reduce data transmission costs, while maximizing battery life.

"The Atmel Cortex-M3 family's broad on-chip peripheral support and hardware and software compatibility with older Atmel ARM7TDMI®-based microcontrollers provides an easy migration path for next-generation devices that have more demanding power optimization and processing power requirements," said Kris Kelkar, Chief Executive Officer at Xirgo.

About Atmel's SAM3 Cortex-M3-based microcontrollers: Inspired by the market's best-selling ARM7TDMI®-based SAM7S series, Atmel's SAM3S-series enable an easy migration path for SAM7S customers to a 50 percent more powerful, lower power and feature-rich Flash MCU, while preserving hardware and software investments. At maximum operating frequency of 64 MHz, the device consumes only 1.45 mW / MHz. Atmel's SAM3 Cortex-M3 MCUs add new peripheral functionality including high-speed USB, SD/SDIO/MMC and SPI, on-die termination resistors that simplify PCB design, parallel IO signal capture, memory protection unit, external memory scrambler and 12-bit analog converters expanding their market opportunities in applications including consumer, industrial control, metering, toys, medical, test and measurement, 802.15.4 wireless networking, PC, cell phone and gaming peripherals.

More Information

More information about Atmel's SAM3 series is available at: http://www.atmel.com/at91sam.

About Atmel

Atmel is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of capacitive touch solutions, microcontrollers, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory and radio frequency (RF) components. Leveraging one of the industry's broadest intellectual property (IP) technology portfolios, Atmel is able to provide the electronics industry with complete system solutions focused on consumer, industrial, security, communications, computing and automotive markets.

© 2009 Atmel Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Atmel®, Atmel logo and combinations thereof, and others are registered trademarks or trademarks of Atmel Corporation or its subsidiaries. ARM®, ARM7TDMI® and others are registered trademarks or trademarks of ARM Ltd. Other terms and product names may be trademarks of others.

About Xirgo Technologies, LLC

Xirgo Technologies, LLC is a leading provider of customized machine-to-machine devices and solutions. Leveraging its high manufacturing volumes and flexible technology platforms optimized for telematics, asset tracking and wireless telemetry applications, Xirgo Technologies' unique design-to-manufacture business model provides its customers with customized solutions, while minimizing time-to-market and reducing non-recurring and recurring costs. For more information about the Company please contact Shawn Aleman at (805) 426-5243 or go to http://www.xirgotech.com.

SOURCE Atmel Corporation