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TO BUSINESS, AND TECHNOLOGY EDITORS:
Wicentric Announces World's First Platform-Independent Firmware
Upgrade Solution for Bluetooth Low Energy Accessories
SAN DIEGO, April 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Bluetooth@ software leader
Wicentric Inc. today announced its over-the-air firmware upgrade
solution for Bluetooth low energy (Bluetooth Smart). Wicentric's
system is the world's first portable and platform-independent firmware
upgrade solution for Bluetooth low energy accessories.
Over-the-air (OTA) firmware upgrade has become a must -have feature
for Bluetooth product developers, allowing the firmware on an
accessory like a smart watch or activity tracker to be upgraded
wirelessly via an app on the phone. Product developers recognize that
field-upgradable firmware is required to maintain compatibility with
the latest mobile phone operating system releases. It also allows
manufacturers to easily deliver product improvements and software bug
fixes after their products are in the hands of users. This improves
the user experience, reduces costs, and reduces time to market.
Other OTA firmware upgrade solutions provided today by chip makers are
designed to work only with specific chips. In contrast, Wicentric's
system is designed to run on any microcontroller or Bluetooth LE
single-mode SoC with sufficient memory resources. It also is portable
to different memory configurations, for example it can be ported to
store the firmware image in an internal on-chip flash memory or an
external EEPROM.
OTA firmware upgrade is just one feature of the Wicentric Data
Exchange Service (WDXS), a Bluetooth low energy service designed by
Wicentric to meet the needs of mobile phone accessories. Other
features include:
-- General purpose file transfers with support for reading, writing,
and erasing files, plus support for multiple simultaneous transfers.
-- Streaming data transfers, e.g. for sensor data such as
accelerometer data.
-- Data transport over the GATT layer or L2CAP layer to support
current Bluetooth 4.0 phones while providing future support for new
Bluetooth 4.1 phones.
-- Connection control features designed to improve interoperability
with iOS and Android.
The Bluetooth SIG has assigned Wicentric a unique 16-bit service UUID
for WDXS. Using a 16-bit UUID instead of a 128-bit UUID can reduce
power consumption and decrease discovery time.
This OTA firmware upgrade solution further expands Wicentric's
comprehensive Bluetooth low energy software offering, which includes:
exactLET Link, a portable and efficient Link Layer; exactLE Stack, a
qualified single-mode protocol stack; and exactLE Profiles, a suite of
standard profiles and services for products like physical activity
monitors, healthcare devices, and smart watches.
Wicentric will be demonstrating its over-the-air firmware upgrade
solution at Bluetooth World on April 8-9 at the San Jose McEnery
Convention Center. Please contact Wicentric for details.
About Wicentric
Wicentric is a leader in Bluetooth low energy software solutions. In
2010, Wicentric became the world's first independent protocol stack
provider to receive Bluetooth 4.0 qualification. Wicentric's exactLET
product line provides Bluetooth Smart semiconductor makers with a
comprehensive baseband-to-application software solution that is
robust, efficient, and easy to use. Wicentric is located in San
Diego, California. For more information, visit www.wicentric.com.
Contact:
Jason Hillyard Wicentric, Inc. +1 619-928-2853 Email
Read more news from Wicentric.
SOURCE Wicentric
-0- 04/07/2014
/Web Site: http://www.wicentric.com
CO: Wicentric
ST: California
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PRN
-- PH99022 --
0000 04/07/2014 12:30:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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