Broadcom Smartwatch Platform Improves Battery Life for Android Wear Devices

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today introduced a new smartwatch platform that reduces power consumption for Android Wear devices. The platform offers original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) more features including GPS with sensor hub processing and wireless charging support. Broadcom will showcase its innovations for the mobile and carrier ecosystem at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, March 2-5. For more news, visit Broadcom's Newsroom.

Broadcom's new smartwatch platform reduces power usage by up to 40 percent over the previous generation, driving further improvement on the core challenge of battery drain in wearables. The platform improves function and performance by offering a smaller form factor, enabling OEMs to add more features or include a larger battery inside their wearable to allow for even longer time between charges.

In addition to an advanced application processor (AP) and Broadcom's leading Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo chip in the new platform, OEMs can choose to integrate GPS with sensor hub processing, near field communication (NFC), wireless charging support and camera support based on their product needs¹. With smartwatches expected to account for more than half of wearable shipments in 2015², there is a significant opportunity for companies to integrate a variety of features and quickly bring products to market.

"Smartwatches represent a big piece of the wearable pie, and Broadcom's new platform expands opportunities for Android Wear developers designing both high-end and affordable devices," said Larry Olivas, Broadcom Senior Director, Business Development, Wireless Connectivity Combos. "As a company that is in a majority of the top smartwatches for 2015, we have the expertise and longstanding connectivity leadership to power the next wave of wearables."    

By providing a complete smartwatch reference design including hardware, Android Wear-enabled software, an optimized bill of materials (BOM) and a rich set of features, Broadcom empowers OEMs to quickly develop robust consumer products to capture the growing market.

Broadcom's Smartwatch Platform includes:

• Broadcom wearable system-on-a-chip (SoC) including 4xA7 application processor and 2G/3G modem support
• BCM4343: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2/Bluetooth Smart combo chip
• BCM4773: GPS SoC with integrated sensor hub
• BCM20795: NFC and secure element support
• BCM59350: Wireless charging support
• Camera support
• Support for Android Wear OS

Availability
Broadcom's new smartwatch platform is now sampling.

For ongoing news, visit Broadcom's Newsroom, read the B-Connected Blog, or visit Facebook or Twitter. And to stay connected, subscribe to Broadcom's RSS Feed.

Resources
¹ 2G/3G modem, NFC, Wi-Fi and camera not supported by Android Wear today
² Business Insider Intelligence, Wearable computing Market Statistics, January 2015, http://www.businessinsider.com/wearable-computing-market-statistics-2015-1

About Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a FORTUNE 500® company, is a global leader and innovator in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom® products seamlessly deliver voice, video, data and multimedia connectivity in the home, office and mobile environments. With one of the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip solutions, Broadcom is changing the world by Connecting everything®. For more information, go to www.broadcom.com.

Broadcom^®, the pulse logo, Connecting everything®, the Connecting everything logo and ™ 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 Wireless and Connectivity

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