Magellan Selects EFM32 Giant Gecko for the First
Smartphone-Compatible Sports Watch Powered by Long-Lasting Replaceable
Batteries
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Silicon
Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB), a leader in high-performance, analog-intensive,
mixed-signal ICs, today announced that Magellan, a leader of innovative
GPS devices for vehicles, fitness, outdoor and mobile navigation, has
chosen Silicon Labs' EFM32™
Giant Gecko microcontroller (MCU) as the energy-friendly processing
platform for the Magellan
Echo smart sports watch. Named as a CES Innovations 2014 Design and
Engineering Award Honoree, the Echo is the first "open" smart sports
watch platform that enables application developers to augment their apps
to be viewed on and controlled from the wrist.
In the emerging market of wearables and appcessories, the award-winning
Magellan Echo stands out for its innovative design. Its display and
watch face can be customized to reflect various sports and fitness
activities from running, biking, hiking to golfing while offering
additional features such as the ability to remotely control music and
sports apps from a smartphone. Unlike other smartwatches, the Echo
leverages the smartphone's integrated GPS and communicates directly with
Bluetooth Smart-enabled iPhone and Android smartphones. This streamlined
design results in a lightweight sports watch with exceptionally long
battery life that is far superior to competing devices.
The 32-bit Giant Gecko MCU, based on the ARM® Cortex®-M3 core, also
plays a key role in the sport watch's energy efficiency, enabling the
Echo to operate for up to 11 months on a single CR2032 coin-cell
battery. The Magellan Echo design team achieved their ultra-low energy
goals by optimizing the Giant Gecko MCU's five different energy modes
and leveraging the MCU's low-energy sensor interface (LESENSE) and
peripheral reflex system (PRS). These features enable energy-friendly
and autonomous peripherals to handle timing and sensor control without
involving the CPU.
"We designed the Echo to give sports and fitness enthusiasts direct
access to their favorite training and entertainment apps while ensuring
that the watch is easy to use and always on, with a long battery life
and no need for recharging," said Clark Weber, senior director of
Fitness and Wearable Products at Magellan. "Since sophisticated multiple
functions potentially require a lot of energy, we chose the EFM32 Giant
Gecko and companion Simplicity Studio design tools as our 32-bit
low-energy platform, enabling us to maximize battery life without
compromising the end user experience or future functionality."
Simplicity
Studio is an easy-to-use graphical development environment for EFM32
Gecko MCU applications. Available to developers at no charge, Simplicity
Studio provides one-click access to all the documentation, tools, and
software and source code libraries needed to accelerate development
time. Key elements of Simplicity Studio include the energyAware
Profiler, a developer-friendly debugging tool for low-energy embedded
development, and the energyAware Designer, a tool that eases the task of
debugging I/O pin conflicts.
"The Magellan Echo smart sports watch exemplifies a rapidly growing
class of energy-efficient, battery-powered wearables for which our
energy-friendly EFM32 Gecko MCUs are exceptionally well-suited," said
Geir Førre, senior vice president and general manager of Silicon Labs'
microcontroller products. "We applaud Magellan for introducing many new
innovations with its award-winning Echo sports watch, such as on-the-go
smartphone compatibility and an open platform approach to fitness
application development."
About Magellan
Headquartered in Santa Clara, CA, MiTAC Digital Corporation,
manufacturer of the Magellan (www.magellangps.com)
brand of portable GPS navigation devices, is a wholly-owned subsidiary
of MiTAC International Corporation. Magellan, the industry leader for
innovative GPS navigation devices since 1986, globally markets
award-winning products in multiple categories including auto, RV,
commercial, outdoor, fitness and mobile. Continuing its spirit of
innovation, Magellan is developing new cloud-based technologies,
wearables, OEM and B-to-B solutions to meet the changing needs of
today's consumers.
Follow Magellan on Facebook,
Twitter
and YouTube.
Silicon Labs
Silicon Labs is an industry leader in the innovation of
high-performance, analog-intensive, mixed-signal ICs. Developed by a
world-class engineering team with unsurpassed expertise in mixed-signal
design, Silicon Labs' diverse portfolio of patented semiconductor
solutions offers customers significant advantages in performance, size
and power consumption. For more information about Silicon Labs, please
visit www.silabs.com.
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Silicon Laboratories Inc.
Dale Weisman, +1-512-532-5871
dale.weisman@silabs.com
or
Magellan
PR
Rita Lee Copernio, +1-714-891-3660
magellan@pc-w.com
Source: Silicon Labs
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