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Industry View category

January 25, 2008

Fastrax Launches Two New OEM GPS Units

IT321

Fastrax Ltd. has launched two new GPS OEM receivers, including one with an integrated chip antenna, aimed at designers of mass-market automotive and portable devices.

The Fastrax UC322 incorporates an on-board chip antenna (five millimeters thick) designed to reduce the size from that of typical patch antennas and large separate ground planes, according to the company. Instead, the end device’s printed circuit board functions as part of the antenna.

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By Glen Gibbons
January 16, 2008

Raytheon Paveway Sales at Record Pace

Enhanced Paveway II

Raytheon Company received more than $150 million worth of contracts in December for its Paveway family of precision-guided munitions. The latest figures bring the total Paveway year-to-date bookings for 2007 to more than $300 million, a record for Raytheon’s Paveway program.

The contracts are a combination of direct commercial sales and foreign military sales and will provide customers in Europe and Asia with the Enhanced Paveway II (EP2) and the EP3 variants of the Paveway weapon system, which upgrade "dumb bombs" into precision-guided munitions.

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By Glen Gibbons
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December 21, 2007

NXP Semiconductors to Buy GloNav

NXP Semiconductors has announced plans to acquire GloNav Inc., a US-based fabless GNSS semiconductor company, for $85 million in cash. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008, subject to regulatory approvals.

According to NXP, the company plans on integrating GloNav’s GPS technology with NXP’s expertise in Bluetooth, FM radio, and USB “to offer a broader connectivity suite to the mobile phone market.”

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By Glen Gibbons
December 19, 2007

GPS Wing Exercises MUE Contract Options

The U.S. Air Force has exercised new options on contracts with three companies for development of GPS Modernized User Equipment (MUE) for future military applications.

Under the new awards, Raytheon will receive $65 million; Rockwell Collins, $50.7 million; and L-3/Interstate Electronics Corporation, $36 million. All options were awarded on or about October 19.

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By Glen Gibbons
December 14, 2007

Atheros Communications Buys u-Nav

Continuing a trend of GPS technology acquisitions designed to facilitate mixed technology wireless products, Atheros Communications has announced a definitive agreement to buy the assets of u-Nav Microelectronics, an Irvine, California–based fabless GPS semiconductor company.

Atheros, with headquarters in Santa Clara, California, is a nine-year-old developer of wireless semiconductor products, including 802.11 standard-based wireless local area network (WLAN), Bluetooth, and personal handy-phone system (PHS) equipment.

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By Glen Gibbons
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November 26, 2007

Trimble Snares USCG DGPS Contract; NDGPS Imperiled

Even as the fate of the inland portions of the Nationwide Differential GPS (NDGPS) reference network hangs in the balance, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has awarded a contract to Trimble for up to 400 high-accuracy GPS reference receivers.

The Trimble NetRS reference receivers will be installed over the next three years as part of the coast guard’s modernization of the Maritime DGPS Service, which is not part of the NDGPS elements that being considered for termination.

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By Glen Gibbons

TomTom Gains with Tele Atlas; Garmin Signs with Navteq

Thwarted in its latter-day attempt to buy digital mapmaker Tele Atlas out from under TomTom, GPS manufacturer Garmin International has signed a long-term deal with rival map provider Navteq.

Under the agreement announced November 16, Garmin will extend its current six-year agreement with Chicago, Illinois–based NAVTEQ to access to map data through 2015 with an option to continue through 2019.

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By Glen Gibbons
October 18, 2007

STM Launches 32-Channel GPS Processor

STMicroelectronics has introduced Cartesio, its new automotive-grade application processor with embedded GPS for navigation and telematics. The processor couples with ST’s GPS RF chip (STA5620) to provide a core receiver unit.

Cartesio (STA2062) integrates a 32-bit ARM CPU core with a high-sensitivity 32-channel GPS subsystem and a large set of connectivity peripherals, including CAN, USB, UARTs, and SPI. It also provides on-chip high-speed RAM and real-time clock functionality, according to the company.

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By Glen Gibbons

Get ready for the 2008 Toulouse Space Show! ENC-GNSS, EFTF 08, and more . . .

ESA/CNES launcher at Toulouse Space Center

Next April’s Toulouse Space Show will provide a good deal of company for the European Navigation Conference (ENC-GNSS 2008).

In addition to the annual European Frequency and Time Forum (EFTF 08), which joined ENC-GNSS 2007 this year at TimeNav ’07 in Geneva, Switzerland, events include a Space Applications symposium sponsored by the French space agency CNES, a commercial exhibition, and associated events for the general public, students, and young people, to promote the value of space applications in daily life.

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By Glen Gibbons
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