SkyCross iMAT Antennas Enable Simultaneous Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Operation in Netbooks, Improving User Experience

Superior Isolation Solves Industry-Wide Interference Problem and Differentiates
Netbook Models

VIERA, Fla.--(Business Wire)--
SkyCross, a global antenna designer and manufacturer, today announced that it
has expanded personal connectivity and improved end-user satisfaction by
enabling Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to operate simultaneously in netbooks. Because
802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth operate at 2.4 GHz, interference between the two RF
signals previously made using both functions at the same time nearly impossible,
particularly when the two antennas were in close proximity inside a device.

Today`s chipsets and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth combo Mini-Cards are capable of supporting
both operations simultaneously, so the antenna has been the industry`s
roadblock. Now, iMAT from SkyCross is the industry`s first single-antenna
solution that offers greater than 35 dB of isolation between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
to enable coexistence even in compact devices such as netbooks. Netbook
shipments are expected to double in 2009, going from 16.4 million to nearly 33
million units.1 Many netbooks shipping today are equipped with Bluetooth, so the
coexistence challenge is particularly prominent in this growing segment.

Some designers attempt to solve the problem by separating the Wi-Fi and
Bluetooth antennas in hopes that the physical space will provide enough
electrical isolation for them to both operate simultaneously. This approach
delivers poor performance, particularly in small devices such as netbooks, and
customers are often disappointed as a result. Other netbook designers avoid the
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth coexistence challenge altogether by disabling one operation
before the other can start. This approach doesn`t allow customers to use a
wireless headset while making a Skype call, listen to wireless stereo speakers
while streaming audio, or even use a wireless mouse or transfer pictures from
one device to another while online. Prior to the iMAT solution from SkyCross,
these suboptimal conventional antenna approaches to an important industry-wide
challenge put the end-user satisfaction in this market segment at risk,
resulting in increased customer support calls, along with netbook and Bluetooth
accessory product returns.

Today, SkyCross uniquely solves the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth coexistence challenge
with its award-winning iMAT technology. iMAT is a design technique enabling a
single antenna element with multiple feed points to behave like multiple
antennas, each with very high isolation. iMAT has multiple benefits: it can
consolidate the number of antennas required in a device, reduce the specific
absorption rate (SAR), eliminate RF components, and more. In this instance, iMAT
enables a single antenna to have one feed dedicated to Wi-Fi and another feed
shared with Bluetooth, which uses the chipset providers` time-sharing and
adaptive frequency hopping algorithms. The very high, built-in isolation between
the two feeds enables both to operate at the same time in a very small space. In
addition, the iMAT single-antenna solution reduces the number of conventional
antennas by a factor of three, which reduces antenna space and system cost in
netbooks to facilitate supporting 3G features.

"Chip makers are very encouraged by this breakthrough, and manufacturers are
already planning to use the SkyCross iMAT solution in their future products,"
said Joe Gifford, Vice President of SkyCross. "Our antennas differentiate
netbook brands by maximizing their connectivity range and enabling optimal
simultaneous functionality at an equivalent price, which pleases consumers.
Seamless Wi-Fi and Bluetooth coexistence opens the door for new applications and
a user experience that will propel netbook brand loyalty."

SkyCross successfully demonstrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth coexistence with the iMAT
single-antenna 35 dB solution using 802.11n Bluetooth Mini-Card modules in
several brands of netbooks in an office environment. The iMAT single-antenna
solution yielded 50 percent improvement in data throughput, further range, and
nearly perfect Bluetooth audio with a MOS (mean opinion score) of five as
compared to the conventional three-antenna solution in netbooks.

1 "Mini-Note (Netbook) Shipments to Double Y/Y to More Than 30M Units in 2009,
While Notebook Shipments Flatten." Display Search. July 13, 2009. Accessed
November 9, 2009
http://www.displaysearch.com/cps/rde/xchg/displaysearch/hs.xsl/071309_mini_note_netbook_shipments_to_double_y_y_to_more_than_30m_units_in_2009.asp.

About SkyCross

SkyCross (www.skycross.com) is a global designer and manufacturer of antenna
solutions for the mobile phone, home entertainment, and computing industries.
SkyCross provides high-performance antenna technology bundled with RF
system-level expertise and responsive regional support from its full-service
facilities in the USA, South Korea, China, Taiwan, and Japan. This convenient
approach empowers device manufacturers to develop winning consumer electronics
products and deliver them to market faster and easier.

Note to Editors:
Links to graphics can be found at the following:
http://www.skycross.com/Images/Netbook_E1.jpg
http://www.skycross.com/Images/Netbook_E1.eps

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6096946&lang=en.

Coracle Group LLC for SkyCross
Lisa A. Eppert, +1-619-934-8099 (CA)
leppert@coraclegroup.com
or
Valerie Suriano, +1-303-912-7974 (CO)
vsuriano@coraclegroup.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009