Fastrax and SiGe Semiconductor Cooperate

SiGe's SE4120 powers Fastrax' Software GPS solution. As a result of the collaboration, the Fastrax Software GPS and SiGe Semiconductor's SE4120 radio front-end makes available a high-performance GPS solution, complimented with a reference design to enable easy integration by third parties.

The reference design is also
available as a turnkey solution in the Fastrax iT900 RF module. This combined offering converts the GPS radio frequency (RF) signal into a
digital intermediate frequency (IF) signal that is processed by Fastrax
Software GPS solution. By deploying SiGe's IC, Fastrax Software GPS solution will provide the best user experience in a range of
applications with a navigation sensitivity as high as -163dBm.

The software-based approach is expected to increase the speed of adoption of GPS functionalities beyond the high-end cell phones. Target
platforms include personal navigation devices (PND's), mobile internet
devices (MIDs), ultra-mobile PCs (UMPC's), personal media players
(PMPs), smartphones, digital cameras and laptops.



While traditional GPS solutions require the integration of a GPS
specific baseband, making the design more complex and adding to the
cost, a software-based solution allows faster time-to-market with less costs and more adjustable features. With Fastrax Software GPS the GPS
functionality can easily be managed and customised to be fully optimized
for each specific device and application.



The new solution will 
initially use our SE4120L or SE4120S devices and will support all known operating systems including all Microsoft Windows platforms,
 embedded Linux and Nucleus, which will provide wider opportunities for
 device manufacturers.