At next week’s Hong Kong Electronics Show, iBiquity Digital will introduce a “reference platform” aimed to help developers make battery-powered portable HD Radio products that cost less and use less power. This package includes schematics, bill-of-material, layout and software.
“The market has been demanding portable HD Radio products, and our partners are anxious to begin development,” stated COO Jeff Jury. Now, he said, all radio categories — high-end home component systems, tabletop radios, OEM automotive and aftermarket radios, and personal portable products — have a standard reference design; this enables quicker time to market development, he said.
The reference platform is based on Samsung EM’s Core-CR module. The portable HD Radio unit uses an Atmel AVR32 as its host microprocessor. The portable reference platform has support for MP3, USB On-The-Go and an SD card interface. The reference has monochrome graphic LCD 128 x 64 and uses 2 AA alkaline batteries.
Another technical announcement could speed development of HD Radio data services and visual-radio user interfaces, iBiquity said. The company is offering a reference platform for a low-cost, USB-powered HD Radio product.
Jury said the design gives manufacturers a path to add HD Radio technology to a PC, a portable navigation device or any device featuring a USB port. “It addresses an area of growing consumer interest by enabling services such as live traffic, weather, gas prices, news and a visual radio experience featuring station logos and album art.”
