Bluetooth SDIO Card Adds Wireless Communication to Mobile Products

IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC)* with its parent company, Toshiba Corporation (Toshiba) today announced the launch of a new Bluetooth(TM) SDIO card that brings wireless capabilities to mobile and digital consumer products equipped with a Secure Digital (SD) Card slot. The new card will conform to the applicable SDIO Card Type-B standards for Bluetooth and Bluetooth Version 1.1.
The new card supports wireless digital uploads and downloads between suitably-equipped products and is expected to be used in PCs, PDAs, mobile phones and digital still cameras.

"By using this card, consumers can turn any notebook PC, PDA, cellular phone or digital camera equipped with an SDIO Card slot into a Bluetooth-enabled device," said Brian Kumagai, business development manager for NAND flash memory products at TAEC. "This new card is particularly exciting because it allows consumers to enjoy the data transfer functionality of Bluetooth using their existing devices as they await the emergence of new Bluetooth-enabled systems."

Toshiba launched the first Bluetooth SDIO card with the Genio e series, Toshiba's popular PDA announced in July, 2001. The new SDIO card offers advanced specifications, including up to a 50 percent reduction in power consumption, as well as a flat profile and a 9 millimeter (mm) reduction in package size.

Toshiba will supply the new SDIO card to manufacturers of digital consumer products and PC peripheral equipment, allowing them to use Toshiba's development tools to create application software to enable full utilization of the new card's capabilities. Manufacturers will bundle the SDIO card and its software with their respective products for the consumer market.

Toshiba's Bluetooth SDIO card supports wireless data exchange between mobile phones and a PC up to a maximum distance of approximately 10 meters, either via a built-in Bluetooth module or by inserting a Bluetooth PC card. By integrating Bluetooth profile and protocol in an SD-IO card, digital products can easily be Bluetooth-enabled.

The new Bluetooth SDIO card will conform to the applicable SDIO Specification Version 1.0, SDIO Card Type-B for Bluetooth and Bluetooth Version 1.1. Toshiba's use of the Bluetooth logo has been authorized by its qualification organization. Radio type approval by regulatory authorities in more than 20 countries and regions, including the U.S., Japan, Europe and Asia, is expected to support global promotion.

Technical Specifications
RF Block: 2.4GHz built-in RF (fully conforms to Bluetooth Version 1.1)
Baseband Block: Conforms to applicable Bluetooth Version 1.1 specifications
Transmission: Class 3; 0 degrees to 65 degrees Celsius
Dimensions: 24mm x 40mm x 2.1mm

Pricing and Availability Samples of Toshiba's Bluetooth SD-IO card are available now, priced at $100.00 each. Mass production is scheduled to begin in late October, 2002.

Toshiba's Role in the Advancement of Bluetooth

Toshiba is currently the sole Japanese member of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group and a leading promoter of the Bluetooth standard that launched the first Bluetooth-related products in the year 2000. The company has also established an organization to authorize use of the Bluetooth logo as a means to globally promote interoperability among Bluetooth-related products.

About TAEC
Combining quality and flexibility with design engineering expertise, TAEC brings a breadth of advanced, next-generation technologies to its customers. This broad offering includes semiconductors, flash memory-based storage solutions, optical communication devices, displays and rechargeable batteries for the computing, wireless, networking, automotive and digital consumer markets.

TAEC is an independent operating company owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba, the second largest semiconductor company worldwide in terms of global sales for the year 2001 according to Gartner/Dataquest's Worldwide Semiconductor Market Share Ranking. Toshiba is a world leader in high-technology products with more than 300 major subsidiaries and affiliates worldwide. For additional company and product information, please visit TAEC's website at chips.toshiba.com. For technical inquiries, please e-mail [email protected].

Bluetooth is a trademark of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson Corp. and licensed by Toshiba. All other trademarks or tradenames held within are the property of their respective owners.