Shanghai, China and Plano, TX, March 1, 2010 – Microtune, Inc (NASDAQ: TUNE) today announced that its multi-standard automotive antenna amplifier, the MT119 is being deployed in the automobiles of BYD Co., Ltd. (www.byd.com) of Shenzhen, China. The MT1119 is currently used in BYD’s fuel-based sedans and all-electric vehicles. It is planned for rollout in BYD’s most popular-selling compact models by March and in all BYD models by year end.
The automotive division of BYD (build Your Dreams) was started in 2003 and is now one of the largest automakers in China with plans to drive sales of both conventional power and new-energy vehicles into the international markets. Its automotive products include high-, medium- and low-end fuel vehicles, hybrids, and all-electric cars.
According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, vehicle sales in China last year rose 46.2% to 13.64 million units, making China the world’s largest auto market.
“BYD consistently demanded higher levels of antenna amplifier performance, and our MT1119 offered improved car radio reception compared to its existing discrete tuner can solution,” said Barry F. Koch, Executive Vice President of Microtune. “Our MT1119 chip also provided a significant design and cost advantage the same multi-standard antenna system design can be used across all BYD model vehicles and markets. This design win reflects our aggressive push to expand our worldwide market for automotive electronics with our silicon ICs.”
MT1119 Antenna Amplifier
The MT1119, designed for automotive in-glass antennas, amplifies a car radio signal, compensating for the reduced performance of integrated antenna systems. It enables superior multi-standard (AM, FM, HD-Radio™, DRM) car radio reception and can be used in single-antenna configurations or multiple-antenna diversity systems. With its miniature form factor and high-level of integration, the MT1119 results in a compact, low-cost radio frequency (RF) solution requiring a minimum number of external components. When integrated into advanced audio systems and antenna architectures, the MT1119 helps bring enhanced entertainment capabilities to quality-conscious drivers and passengers.
The MT1119 is qualified according to the Automotive Electronics Council (AEC) Q100 requirements, which are the automotive industry’s quality standards for integrated-circuit electronics. The product also meets the green technology standards of the RoHS specification.
The MT1119, at 4 x 4 millimeters, is part of Microtune’s family of automotive products developed specifically to meet the strict performance, qualification and manufacturing requirements of car makers and Tier-1 suppliers. Microtune also offers other RF products for car radio and car TV systems, as well as an advanced MicroDigitizer™ RF-to-digital converter for software defined radio. For more complete product descriptions of the MT1119 antenna amplifier, please visit Microtune’s website at www.microtune.com ).
