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IRVINE, Calif., Jun 21, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a leading provider of highly integrated semiconductor solutions enabling broadband communications, today introduced a sophisticated new software and hardware solution that greatly simplifies the process of securely connecting wireless keyboards and mice to computers and other devices. Manufacturers can now ship wireless peripherals standard with their computers, rather than having to include a wired keyboard for configuration purposes.
This new technology is based on software that Broadcom recently acquired in the purchase of WIDCOMM, Inc., which had developed the most widely deployed Bluetooth® software protocol stack in the PC industry.
With current competing solutions, Bluetooth wireless peripherals are unable to create first-time secure associations with a desktop or notebook PC without the use of a wired keyboard that must be included as standard equipment with the PC. In contrast, PCs enabled with Broadcom's technology can detect and associate with Bluetooth peripherals right out of the box without the need for a separate wired keyboard. Although this implementation is unique in the industry, it is based upon and compliant with version 1.2 of the Bluetooth specification. The inability to ship Bluetooth peripherals standard with PCs has been a barrier to mass market adoption of these products, and this new innovation will help drive the industry toward more standard wireless offerings.
The new feature is available with the Broadcom® Blutonium® BCM2035 and BCM2040 single-chip Bluetooth transceiver platforms, integrating software and hardware components into a peripheral that presents itself to a target host computer as a USB device, enabling the keyboard or mouse to emulate a wired connection. The user can utilize the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse during PC boot up time and even in Windows® Safe mode. This new technology was under joint development by WIDCOMM and Broadcom for a year prior to the recent acquisition and is enabled by tight integration of the WIDCOMM® software with Broadcom's Bluetooth integrated circuit products and embedded software.
With solutions dedicated to wireless peripherals, Broadcom has emerged as a leading enabler of Bluetooth human interface device (HID) products.
"Bluetooth's goal is to wirelessly bind together the personal electronic devices that are increasingly important to us as we communicate and work," said Scott Bibaud, Director of Marketing for Bluetooth Products at Broadcom. "Dependence upon a wired keyboard to enable the first time use of a Bluetooth keyboard is now a thing of the past. Our continued focus is on making Bluetooth products easier to use. The recent acquisition of WIDCOMM clearly puts us in a unique position to achieve this strategic objective and thus expand the Bluetooth market potential for our customers."
Broadcom's Blutonium Bluetooth chip platforms enabled with this new feature utilize an on-chip three-port USB hub implemented in actual silicon logic to perform a unique USB hardware emulation mode, so that associated PCs or laptops recognize devices as connected via hardware, rather than software. Competing solutions rely upon a software-based HID connection, creating potential security concerns in environments where multiple wireless keyboards are present and requiring the host PC to boot with an appropriate Bluetooth driver pre-installed. This driver limitation necessitates that any new Bluetooth peripheral attempting to connect must be configured by means of another keyboard that is already connected by a wire, adding cost and complexity to the set-up process.
"Connecting a wireless keyboard to a PC shouldn't require a wired keyboard or multi-step software configuration processes that mainstream users aren't prepared to perform," said Myron Jones, President of peripheral manufacturer NMB Technologies Corporation. "Broadcom's technology contributes to making our wireless keyboard and mouse products more convenient and easy to use, which is what Bluetooth was designed for in the first place."
In addition to facilitating ease-of-use, the WIDCOMM BTW software for Windows products also includes built-in security features that prevent unauthorized peripherals to connect to host devices once an association has been confirmed. The BTW software provides other enhancements over the native Bluetooth functionality integrated into Windows, providing greater ease-of-use and a richer experience for the user.
Availability
Broadcom's BCM2035 and BCM2040 devices have been shipping in volume production since 2003, and the associated WIDCOMM BTW software with Broadcom's unique boot mode is now available to Broadcom's strategic partners.
About Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation is a leading provider of highly integrated semiconductor solutions that enable broadband communications and networking of voice, video and data services. We design, develop and supply complete system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions incorporating digital, analog, radio frequency (RF), microprocessor and digital signal processing (DSP) technologies, as well as related hardware and software system-level applications. Our diverse product portfolio addresses every major broadband communications market and includes solutions for digital cable and satellite set-top boxes; high definition television (HDTV); cable and digital subscriber line (DSL) modems and residential gateways; high-speed transmission and switching for local, metropolitan, wide area and storage networking; home and wireless networking; cellular and terrestrial wireless communications; Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) gateway and telephony systems; broadband network and security processors; and SystemI/O™ server solutions. These technologies and products support our core mission: Connecting everything®.
Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and may be contacted at 1-949-450-8700 or at www.broadcom.com.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
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, 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. 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 its Bluetooth products include, but are not limited to, general economic and political conditions and specific conditions in the markets we address, including the volatility in the technology sector and semiconductor industry, trends in the broadband communications markets in various geographic regions, and possible disruption in commercial activities related to terrorist activity or armed conflict in the United States and other locations; the rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt Broadcom's technologies and products in the markets for wireless networking applications; delays in the adoption and acceptance of industry standards in those markets; 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; our ability to scale our operations in response to increases in demand for our products and services; the timing, rescheduling or cancellation of significant customer orders and our ability, as well as the ability of our customers, to manage inventory; the availability and pricing of third party semiconductor foundry and assembly capacity and raw materials; our ability to retain and hire key executives, technical personnel and other employees in the numbers, with the capabilities, and at the compensation levels needed to implement our business and product plans; fluctuations in the manufacturing yields of our third party semiconductor foundries and other problems or delays in the fabrication, assembly, testing or delivery of our products; the risks of producing products with new suppliers and at new fabrication and assembly facilities; the loss of a key customer; our ability to specify, develop or acquire, complete, introduce, market and transition to volume production new products and technologies in a timely manner; the timing of customer-industry qualification and certification of our products and the risks of non- qualification or non-certification; the volume of our product sales and pricing concessions on volume sales; the effects of new and emerging technologies; changes in our product or customer mix; intellectual property disputes and customer indemnification claims and other types of litigation risk; problems or delays that we may face in shifting our products to smaller geometry process technologies and in achieving higher levels of design integration; the quality of our products and any remediation costs; the effectiveness of our expense and product cost control and reduction efforts; the risks and uncertainties associated with our international operations, particularly in light of recent events; the effects of natural disasters, public health emergencies, international conflicts and other events beyond our control; the level of orders received that can be shipped in a fiscal quarter; and other factors.
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 for any reason.
Broadcom®, the pulse logo, Connecting everything®, the Connecting everything logo, WIDCOMM®, Blutonium®, and SystemI/O™ are trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. Bluetooth® is a trademark of the Bluetooth SIG. Windows® is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
Broadcom Trade Press Contact
Henry Rael
Sr. Communications Specialist
949-926-5734
hrael@broadcom.com
Broadcom Business Press Contact
Bill Blanning
Sr. Director, Corporate Communications
949-926-5555
blanning@broadcom.com
Broadcom Technical Contact
Scott Bibaud
Director, Bluetooth Products
949-926-5868
sbiaud@broadcom.com
Broadcom Investor Relations Contact
T. Peter Andrew
Sr. Director, Investor Relations
949-926-5663
andrewtp@broadcom.com
SOURCE Broadcom Corporation
Trade Press, Henry Rael, Sr. Communications Specialist, +1-949-926-5734, hrael@broadcom.com, or Business Press, Bill Blanning, Sr. Director, Corporate Communications, +1-949-926-5555, blanning@broadcom.com, or Technical Contact, Scott Bibaud, Director, Bluetooth Products, +1-949-926-5868, sbiaud@broadcom.com, or Investor Relations, T. Peter Andrew, Sr. Director, Investor Relations, +1-949-926-5663, andrewtp@broadcom.com, all of Broadcom Corporation
http://www.broadcom.com
