Bluetooth® pioneer CSR sees strong Bluetooth Smart growth in Internet of Things Applications

Technology pioneer CSR plc (LSE: CSR; NASDAQ: CSRE) continues to benefit from accelerating growth and demand in the area of Bluetooth® Smart, that has resulted in a strong year-on-year increase in its Bluetooth Smart business. The company has seen significant growth in its pipeline following the introduction of a number of new solutions earlier this year. These design wins are in areas including Human Interface Devices, remote controls, lighting and wearables.

The most recent customer wins include several unannounced deals with Tier One customers in addition to wins with three Tier One OEMs, Incipio, Lenovo and Tanita, adopting the CSR1010™ and CSR1011™. CSR has partnered with Lenovo to make its new S9 and S52 Smart TVs the world’s first TVs with fully featured Bluetooth Smart remote controls; and Incipio has expanded its line of low power solutions by adopting the CSR1011 solution for the offGRID Smart™ Portable Backup Batteries. The disruptive CSRmesh™ technology has also been selected by Samsung for their smart lighting solutions.

"CSR has an unequalled heritage in Bluetooth and has been instrumental in the progression of the technology, and helped to write the Bluetooth Smart standard to meet the needs of the rapidly evolving consumer electronics market,” said Joep van Beurden, CEO at CSR. "Our team continues to combine disruptive thinking, a hunger for innovation and over a decade of experience in Bluetooth development to create powerful Bluetooth Smart platforms that are enabling the growth of the Internet of Things. Our solutions simplify complex challenges and help customers develop breakthrough wireless products quickly, which is why we continue to see strong uptake from customers.”

Significant milestones

• June 2014 – CSR1010 and CSR1011
  • CSR sees another streak of customer wins for its CSR1010 and CSR1011 Bluetooth Smart products. Recent customer traction for the CSR1011 includes a new smart remote control by Lenovo, an expanded line of smart portable backup batteries from Incipio, and the CSR1010 was chosen by Tanita for their new smart weight scales
• February 2014 - CSRmesh
  • A disruptive Bluetooth Smart technology which enables an almost unlimited number of Bluetooth Smart enabled devices to be networked together and controlled directly from a single smartphone, tablet or PC
  • Samsung along with two other Tier One manufacturers have already selected the technology and will ramp mass production of their smart lighting solutions based on the CSRmesh solution this year
  • CSR has seen a high level of interest from a wide range of manufacturers and will soon be releasing a development kit to ensure developers can get to market quickly
• February 2014 - ARM mbed platform
  • By joining the ARM mbed platform, an industry venture designed to nurture the growth of the Internet of Things, CSR is providing the mbed community with access to its Bluetooth Smart solutions, making it easier for them to integrate into existing microcontroller projects

• December 2013 - CSR1012™
  • Designed to specifically meet the needs of developers looking to create low-power wearable accessories, the solution provides a smaller form factor package but critically still uses standard PCB technology, allowing developers to get high-volume products to market quickly and cost effectively
  • At CES, the solution was demonstrated in a range of connected jewellery designed to show that wearable technology can be both fashionable and functional
  • CSR continues to see customer traction for its CSR1010 and CSR1011 Bluetooth Smart products, particularly for Human Interface Devices and remote controls. Recent CSR1011 wins include a tablet keyboard by a Tier One PC OEM and a set-top box remote control by another Tier One company. It has also recently been chosen for a remote control by a major Asian manufacturer. CSR1010 was recently chosen by Fasttrack for use in a luggage tracking system to be trialled with Air France, KLM and other airlines
• December 2013 – CSR µEnergy Starter Development Kit
  • A low-cost development kit, priced at USD $99, designed to provide a complete environment for developers looking to create their first Bluetooth Smart products and get them to market rapidly with a low initial investment
  • In April, the solution won the EE Times and EDN 2014 UBM Tech ACE Awards in the ‘Ultimate Products – Development Kits’ category
  • CSR has also launched a developer forum and wiki, designed to better support the Bluetooth Smart developer community
• October 2013 - CSR1010™ auto
  • CSR brought the first AEC-Q100 qualified single-mode Bluetooth Smart embedded device for automotive applications to market. CSR1010 auto is seeing good traction for a range of applications including keyless entry and pressure sensors

"We continue to see the potential for explosive Bluetooth Smart growth over the coming quarters and years,” concluded van Beurden. "This is being driven in part by the opportunity to use a Bluetooth Smart Ready smartphone, or tablet, as a gateway to the cloud, for Internet of Things applications. We believe this technology, which is natively supported by all major operating systems and is already available in the majority of smartphones and tablets from major manufacturers, will result in the proliferation of an ecosystem of peripherals around such devices.”

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About CSR

CSR solves the challenges and delivers the core innovations that enable our customers to win in the global consumer electronics market. Our passionate technologists develop enhanced silicon, software and services with a focus on Voice & Music, Document Imaging, Automotive Infotainment, Bluetooth® Smart and Indoor Location. We partner with leading customers across the globe and deliver integrated and differentiated technology platforms to help them turn their great ideas into market-leading products. For more information, visit www.csr.com or keep up to date with CSR via our technical blog, people blog, YouTube, Facebook or Twitter.

CAUTIONARY NOTE ON FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains certain statements (including statements concerning plans and objectives of management for future operations or performance, or assumptions related thereto) that are not historical facts and constitute ‘forward looking statements’ within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 in relation to CSR’s Bluetooth® Smart platforms, and their performance characteristics in automotive or consumer electronic products, and other future events and their potential effects on CSR. These forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as ‘will,’ ‘can deliver,’ offers', 'allows', 'to enhance,’ ‘enables,’ 'designed to' and other similar expressions regarding the performance characteristics of CSR’s Bluetooth® Smart platforms, and their performance characteristics in automotive or consumer electronics products, and their potential effects on CSR. Any future release of CSR’s Bluetooth® Smart platforms or automotive or consumer electronics products containing such technology, related products or modifications to such products’ capability, functionality or features are subject to ongoing evaluation by CSR and its customers, and may or may not be implemented and should not be considered firm commitments by CSR or its customers and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. Such forward-looking statements represent the current expectations and beliefs of management of CSR, and are based upon numerous assumptions regarding CSR’s business strategies and the environment in which CSR will operate and therefore involve a number of known and unknown risks, contingencies, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of CSR, including, but not limited to, those detailed from time to time in CSR’s periodic reports (whether under the caption Risk Factors or Forward Looking Statements or elsewhere), which are available at the SEC’s web site http://www.sec.gov. Each forward looking statement speaks only as of the date hereof. CSR does not undertake to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward looking statements contained herein, otherwise than required by law.

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