Hong Kong Electronics Fair, 13th October 2014 – Frontier Silicon, the world’s leading supplier of digital radio and connected audio technology, showcases Verona 2, its new power-efficient DAB solution, at the autumn edition of HKEF.
Verona 2, with power consumption of 100mW (50% lower than its predecessor and competitors), revolutionises the battery life of digital radio devices and delivers game-changing benefits for manufacturers and end-users.
This step-change in power efficiency means the need to re-charge or replace batteries is greatly reduced. Conversely, the same battery life can now be delivered by smaller, lower cost batteries.
This reduction in battery size will enable the development of a new generation of compact, low cost DAB devices, such as handheld and traveller DAB radios.
Verona 2’s improved efficiency also extends to: stand-by mode, with power consumption of ~1mW; and hibernate mode, with power consumption as low as 200µW.
Verona 2 is based on Frontier Silicon’s 4th generation Kino 4 chip – the world’s first truly integrated digital radio IC with RF, baseband, application processor, audio decode and DAC functionality on a single piece of silicon (packaged part measuring 10mm x 10mm only). Integrating all these processing blocks onto a single silicon (rather than the more commonly used technique of using system-in-package, or SIP, where multiple silicon are stacked into a single package), is a key factor enabling dramatic power reduction. This technology builds on previous generations of Frontier Silicon’s Kino chip series – the world’s best-selling digital radio ICs – over 20 million units sold.
The Verona 2 module will power all categories of consumer DAB digital radio devices – in particular, portable radios, clock radios, docks, home audio systems and radio receivers with Bluetooth connectivity.
Verona 2 is sampling now to selected customers. Demonstrations are available at Frontier’s exclusive HKEF demo suite.
Prem Rajalingham, Vice President Sales & Marketing, Frontier Silicon, said:
“Verona 2 offers customers world leading battery life. The 50% power consumption savings are a direct response to market demands – from audio manufacturers and end-users of their devices.
“Just as transistor radios transformed the mobility of music in the 1960s, new power efficient digital radios, powered by Verona 2, will make high quality digital radio available wherever you are.”
About Frontier Silicon Limited
Frontier Silicon is the world’s leading supplier of integrated circuits and modules for digital radio and connected audio products. The company is part of the Toumaz Group, a pioneer in low-power wireless semiconductor and software technologies for consumer audio and wireless healthcare.
Frontier Silicon’s audio products offer solutions for DAB/DAB+, Internet radio and Connected Audio – from silicon through software to production-ready platform designs.
Customers supplied by Frontier Silicon Customers include Bose, Denon, harman/kardon, Onkyo, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, PURE, Roberts, Sharp, Sony, Yamaha, and many more.
Frontier Silicon is a trademark or registered trademark of Frontier Silicon Ltd.
