Package promises speedy route to Bluetooth headset

A novel design package allows designers to create a high-performance low-cost Bluetooth headset in as little as 60 minutes.

CSR has launched a design solution package that allows customers to create a high-performance low-cost Bluetooth headset in as little as 60 minutes.

CSR's BlueVOX1 incorporates all the necessary hardware, software, design notes and support for advanced Bluetooth headset design, allowing manufacturers to create, customise new products and get them to market with minimal delay.

CSR's comprehensive interoperability pretesting and prequalified hardware and software make Bluetooth qualification of the end product a formality, further reducing time to market.

Under soon to be adopted rules this qualification cost could be reduced to zero.

Karen Parnell, Product Marketing Manager, CSR explained: "The Bluetooth headset market has grown dramatically in recent years and is now entering early maturity, putting pressure on manufacturers to reduce the bill of materials (BOM) if they are to remain competitive".

"Meanwhile, headset suppliers are struggling to meet ever-rising consumer expectations for headset design and functionality".

"The BlueVOX1 system provides all the technological elements required for producing a robust and high-performance headset, leaving the designers with more time to concentrate on differentiating their offering through customisation and industrial design innovation".

The BlueVOX1 package includes CSR's single-chip BlueCore4 hardware to achieve the ultralow power consumption levels required by today's headset makers.

The chip is highly integrated with on-chip switch mode power supply, lithium battery charger and audio codec.

Power consumption for active voice calling is less than 13mA, falling to just 76uA in standby mode.

This power consumption can be reduced even further when the headset is connected to an HFP1.5 EDR capable phone, reducing the power consumption by more than 15%.

Headset V4 application software featuring the new hands-free profile (HFP) 1.5 to support EDR and eSCO which improves audio quality by allowing retransmissions of corrupted voice data are also enabled in the BlueVOX1 solution.

The chip includes new wind noise filter, which allows reliable use of the headset even in windy environments.

CSR's BlueVOX1 solution development system (SDS), which includes mono headset software development kit (SDK), headset-specific hardware development kit, fully tested reference design, headset application source code, "Configurator" and local technical support are also crucial elements of BlueVOX1.

"By using the ROM-based development kit and straightforward Windows-based setup GUI featured in BlueVOX1, called the Configurator", noted Parnell, "it is possible to design a competitive headset product in just one hour".

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