Press and News - 09.07.2001

u-blox technology in Benefon's new Esc! Personal Navigation Phone

Benefon's new Esc! Personal Navigation phone has now hit the market as the first dual-band mobile phone (GSM 900/1800) with integrated GPS technology. Benefon has combined these two technologies so cleverly that despite its performance, the Esc! is a particularly compact (129 x 49 x 23 mm) featherweight at 150 g. This was made possible by using the u-blox GPS-MS1E receiver module, a product from u-blox employing the SiRFstar™ GPS Architecture from SiRF Technology, Inc.

With the GPS-MS1E receiver module, u-blox has packed the very latest GPS technology into the smallest possible space. This module comprises a complete 12-channel receiver easily and rapidly integrated into customer systems. For telecommunications applications, fast cold-start times (below 1 minute) are essential. Also the satellite reacquisition time has to be extremely short for accurate positioning (less than 100 ms). The u-blox GPS-MS1E receiver module meets both these requirements, furthermore its lightweight compact design and low power consumption make it ideal for portable GPS products.

The market launch of Esc! marks another milestone in the company's soon 14-year long history. This unique combination of communication and navigation instrument is ideal for use for personal navigation in the mountains, forests, at sea and in cities. With its powerful MPTP (Mobile Phone Telematics Protocol), enabling service developers to easily configurate new service system functionalities, the Esc! can also be utilized by company fleet solutions, ie. in b2b markets. In the Esc!, there are also some interesting unique functions: "Friend find" not only locates other Esc! users (as long as they keep this function open), but also guides you to them. And by pressing the emergency button, a message is sent automatically to the nearest rescue service if necessary. Furthermore, this ingenious device is supported with the mobile map services by Genimap and others, together with the help desk service. Using the Genimap service, a wide selection of road, city and topographical maps and nautical can easily be downloaded from the Internet via a standard PC.

About Benefon

Benefon, founded 1988 in Salo, Finland, is reputed for high-performance mobile phone products of outstandingly modern technology and fine design. With about 400 employees, Benefon is also the world's smallest independent manufacturer of cell phones making it fast and agile in adopting new technologies and catering unique market needs.

About u-blox

u-blox currently employs a workforce of 38 at locations in Switzerland, Germany, Hong Kong, England and the USA. In the last fiscal year, sales totalled some CHF 17 million (sales in 1999 came to CHF 2 million and in 1998 to CHF 200,000). Edzard Reuter, former Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler-Benz, is president of the u-blox Board.

Further information