Amalfi announces shipment of 25 million 2G GSM/GPRS cellular handset TxM ICs

LOS GATOS, USA: Amalfi Semiconductor, a developer of high-performance, highly integrated CMOS RF and mixed-signal solutions, announced that in its first year of production the company shipped more than 25 million CMOS 2G GSM/GPRS transmit module (TxM) integrated circuits (IC) to cellular handset manufacturers.

Amalfi Semiconductor also announced that its fourth quarter 2010 shipments were used in more than 5 percent of worldwide 2G GSM/GPRS handsets.

Amalfi Semiconductor introduced its first family of CMOS-based 2G GSM/GPRS TxM ICs in 2009 and began shipping products in early 2010. The Amalfi AM7801, AM7802 and AM7803 Dual and Quad Band TxM ICs established a new benchmark in efficiency and electrostatic discharge (ESD) performance, enabling cellular handset manufacturers to develop lower cost phones with significantly longer battery life and smaller size. The devices are primarily targeted for use in entry level and ultra low cost (ULC) 2G GSM/GPRS cellular handsets in emerging markets.

"The 2G GSM/GPRS market has outperformed forecasts over the past several years and remains the dominant air interface standard for cellular handsets in the world, with a large subscriber base in China, India and other emerging economies," said Mark Foley, CEO of Amalfi Semiconductor.

"We offer our customers superior performance at competitive prices and that combination has fueled our rapid growth in this large market. Our customers recognize that our CMOS-based power amplifier solutions allow us to provide a price down roadmap that can't be matched by our competitors' GaAs-based solutions. We expect steady market share growth this year."

GaAs-based transmit modules are the dominant solutions in handsets today. With the introduction of the AM7801, AM7802 and AM7803, cellular handset manufacturers now have a CMOS-based TxM IC option, which offers the best cost/performance trade-off. [Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) and Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) are semiconductor process technologies.]