TazTag Adds ZigBee Functionality With Atmel Product to New TazCard Contactless Portable Device

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Atmel(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML), a leader in microcontroller and touch solutions, and TazTag(TM), a pioneer in NFC-secured portable products, today announced that TazTag will bring an all-in-one multi-application contactless device with a ZigBee(R) communication link to market.

ZigBee functionality has been implemented in the current TazCard product using the Atmel AT86RF231 2.4 GHz low-power transceiver. "Choosing Atmel's ZigBee transceiver brings TazTag the perfect solution to implement ZigBee and IPv6/6LoWPAN functionalities on our TazCard product," said Eric Fouchard, CEO of TazTag. "The introduction of the Atmel ATmegaRFA1, a new fully integrated ZigBee single-chip solution, will bring us another step towards lower current consumption and a reduced size factor for our portable device."

"The Atmel single-chip ATmega128RFA1 ZigBee solution is the right choice for adding ZigBee functionality to a portable compact device with energy constraints such as the TazCard from TazTag," said Magnus Pedersen, product marketing director of MCU wireless solutions at Atmel Corporation.

The TazCard is a new multi-purpose, highly-secure NFC device in a slim pocket format. This personal wireless safe with a large touch screen, biometric sensor and various communication interfaces (NFC, USB and ZigBee) allows a wide range of secure applications. These applications include Smart Metering, Home Automation and Geo-localization – all applications that can benefit from the ZigBee features in the device.

Come visit TazTag at CeBit in Hannover, March 2nd to 6th – Booth B09 Hall 9 for a demonstration of the TazCard ZigBee functionalities.

More Information

For more information about TazCard and TazTag, please visit http://www.taztag.com.

For more information about Atmel's wireless solutions, please click the following link:  http://www.atmel.com/wireless.

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.

About TazTag

TazTag is a new innovative company specialized in contactless technology such as NFC and ZigBee(R). Its core activity is the creation of new contactless products, highly secured and multi-application. TazCard(TM) and TazTag logo are registered trademarks of TazTag.

(c) 2010 Atmel Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Atmel(R), Atmel logo and combinations thereof are registered trademarks or trademarks of Atmel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Other terms and product names may be trademarks of others.

SOURCE Atmel Corporation