Product category: Reference Designs
News Release from: Cambridge Silicon Radio | Subject: BlueCore3-MM stereo headphone reference design
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 21 July 2005
Design cuts the
cost of Bluetooth headphones
A new reference design for Bluetooth stereo headphones offers the lowest ever total bill of materials cost for this type of product
CSR has released a new reference design for Bluetooth stereo headphones that offers the lowest ever total bill of materials (BOM) cost for this type of product. The new design exploits several features in CSR's BlueCore3-Multimedia chip, including an internal codec, minimal external components and smaller PCB footprint, to achieve the breakthrough BOM.
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By using BC3-MM's internal codec alone, the bill of materials is reduced by around 20%.
BlueCore3-Multimedia is the only Bluetooth chip available with a high quality internal stereo codec, achieving an SNR of up to 85dB.
It is also compatible with a wide range of external codecs.
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The chip also requires fewer than half the external components of alternative solutions, thereby reducing costs directly through shorter assembly time and the need for fewer components to be purchased.
BC3-MM offers market-leading energy efficiency by using an advanced digital signal processor (DSP) which greatly reduces the power consumption of the headphones.
It uses half the power of alternative solutions based on general purpose RISC microprocessors, meaning that product designers can use cheaper, smaller and lighter batteries, while maintaining the same extended battery life demanded by customers.
The new design offers many leading edge features including support for MP3 streaming.
MP3 streaming improves audio quality and reduces power consumption in music players such as the Apple iPod or the latest mobile phones with integrated hard disk drives.
By incorporating CSR's stable headset software, currently used in 85% of all Bluetooth headsets, the reference design offers the ability to make and receive calls as well as playing music.
Luke D'Arcy, Product Marketing Manager, CSR commented: 'The new reference design offers great sounding audio at a great price'.
'It's fully tested and production ready, allowing stereo headset designers to get to market fast'.
He continued: 'Many handset manufactures are now shipping Bluetooth mobile phones with stereo streaming capability'.
'The new platform will help designers to take hold of this enormous opportunity'.
CSR is the market leader in both Bluetooth mono and stereo headset markets.
BlueCore silicon is the force behind virtually all upcoming stereo headsets as well as recently launched models which offer call and music management in addition to Bluetooth dongles for compatibility with the iPod.
The new BlueCore3-MM stereo headphone reference design is now available to download from the CSR support website.
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