Chipsets
Over the last few years, the number of location-aware mobile devices- especially phones and handheld navigation devices- has increased significantly. GPS chipset manufacturers have responded by making a wide range of improvements, such as minimizing the silicon footprint, improving power management, reducing processing consumption, and lowering overall per unit cost. But in three key performance areas, GPS chips have not, on their own, been able to make any significant enhancements. Those areas are in accuracy, availability and time to first fix indoors and in challenging urban environments. With GPS-enabled devices in the hands of more end-users and the growing availability of applications and services that rely on location, GPS technology alone can no longer meet the more sophisticated needs of the consumer.
Using its advanced hybrid positioning methodologies, Skyhook has provided the market-leading GPS chipset makers with more accurate location, near-instant time to fix, and reliability in all environments. As a result, mobile phone and personal navigation device manufacturers can now seamlessly deploy a single, integrated positioning solution on one single die chipset that combines Wi-Fi, GPS and other radios.
Qualcomm has integrated Skyhook's WPS into their gpsOne and QPoint location platforms. SiRF has partnered with Skyhook to create a hybrid GPS/Wi-Fi location platform. In addition, Broadcom partnered with Skyhook to upgrade its already industry-leading location-based services infrastructure and chipsets. Finally, CSR advanced its own location capabilities on its existing Wi-Fi silicon by combining CSR's UniFi, embedded Wi-Fi chips and GPS location with Skyhook's technology.