STMicroelectronics and Open Interface North America to Collaborate on Next-Generation Wireless Audio Solutions

Consumer electronics manufacturers will be able to use these devices in the development of audio streaming solutions for portable music players, mobile phones with music streaming capability, PCs, set top boxes, TVs, games consoles, stereo systems and other products.

The Sound Terminal family is based on a series of high audio quality, fully-digital signal processing and power amplifier ICs (integrated circuits), with stereo power outputs from 100-milliwatts to 80-watts per channel. Their all-digital audio stream is ideal for integration with wireless interfaces, enabling manufacturers to design cost-effective, high-efficiency, small form-factor sound systems for portable applications.

SOUNDabout is a software application development platform and suite of reference designs enabling the easy implementation of high-quality wireless audio in consumer devices. It allows manufacturers of consumer electronics products such as wireless headsets, speakers and set-top boxes to quickly
and inexpensively add near-CD quality wireless audio, implemented to Bluetooth standards, with reduced engineering risk and time-to-market.

BLUEmagic is an embedded Bluetooth protocol stack that is scalable, modular and portable, with an innovative, high-performance, compact architecture ideal for embedded devices.

“ST aims to embed superior, best-of-breed software solutions into the leading-edge audio devices in the Sound Terminal family,” said Andrea Onetti, General Manager of ST’s Audio Division. “Open Interface North America has clearly researched, developed and designed superior applications
for delivering audio over Bluetooth. We are excited about the opportunities in collaborating with Open Interface, to provide OEMs and ODMs easy access to the proven SOUNDabout and BLUEmagic technologies.”

“ST’s Bluetooth module and chip products,” said Tom Nault, chairman and CEO of Open Interface, “ensure that manufacturers are able to build cost-effective solutions that not only offer ultra-low power consumption, but also provide unsurpassed audio quality, easier application development, and scalability for multiple market segments and future multimedia applications.”

Greg Burns, Open Interface North America CTO, added, “ST recognizes that its OEM and ODM customers can greatly benefit from OI’s easy-to-implement, yet high-quality audio for their devices. It was after extensive and rigorous evaluation that they selected SOUNDabout and BLUEmagic because our solutions
are platform independent and fully Bluetooth 2.0+ Enhanced Data Rate (EDR)
compliant, are tested for interoperability, provide superior high-quality sound, and are optimized for low power consumption in battery operated devices.”