NXP Expands Wireless USB technology Base in Singapore

NXP Semiconductors, the independent company founded by Philips, brought to light earlier this week the expansion of its presence in Singapore for the advancement of Wireless USB (W-USB) technology development. Over the next five years, NXP will invest some 90 million Euros, as part of its planned annual R&D investment, to make W-USB a mainstream technology enabling efficient connectivity among various consumer devices. Building on the company’s pole position in the USB transceiver market, NXP’s USB Innovation Center in Singapore will further develop its expertise on the complete technology development lifecycle for W-USB: standardization, IC design, test & product engineering, system & software development, as well as marketing. OEMs and ODMs seeking to adopt W-USB technology will have access to a highly-qualified and focused talent pool to enable rapid integration and quick time-to-market. For consumers, W-USB allows faster (480 mbps), short-range (10 meters) data transfers, outperforming current Bluetooth and WiFi transfer rates between consumer devices.“W-USB promises to bring greater connectivity and convenience to mobile phones, consumer electronics and PC peripherals. We believe it will be a key enabler to realize consumers’ demand for connecting information and entertainment anytime anywhere,” said Marc Cetto, EVP and general manager, Mobile & Personal Business, NXP Semiconductors. “Our investment in manpower, equipment and IP creation, together with the support of Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), empowers the development of state-of-art W-USB to further our leadership position. With a multi-cultural, knowledge-intensive engineering talent base, Singapore is a strategic location for NXP’s R&D program, replete with the EDB’s cluster strategy for industrial impetus.”“Since its inception more than 10 years ago, NXP Innovation Center has trained and developed a core group of high-caliber R&D talent and strengthened the semiconductor industry in Singapore, ” said Swee-Nian Lim, Executive Director of the Electronics Cluster, Singapore Economic Development BoardAccording to NXP its device controllers do away with the hub and dongle approach to Wireless USB. Instead, they combine the ease of use and speed of wired USB with the convenience of wireless connectivity for high-speed picture transfers, music downloads, printing and data synchronization for mobile phones, consumer electronics and PC applications. For instance, the low power, small-footprint ISP3582 integrates directly into end systems at the board level, allowing a seamless replacement of wired USB in today’s current systems.