NEC Selects Freescale's ZigBee Platform

NEC Engineering's ZB24FM can operate with a dry cell battery (3.0V) for up to two years, achieving lower power consumption and running cost. The module's compact size allows it to be embedded in various customer products and is ideal for applications such as fire alarms with smoke and humidity sensors, power management for monitoring g electricity usage, air conditioning, crime prevention, physical distribution management and factory line monitoring. "Our ZB24FM was certified as a module by the ZigBee-Compliant Platform test, performed by TUV Rheinland Group Japan," said Hidetoshi Miyazawa, manager of System Interface Development Section, Device Solution Business Department, NEC Engineering. "Freescale's ZigBee-compliant chipset helped us move smoothly through the testing, and now we will be able to quickly release ZigBee products for various profiles. We hope that our customers will feel comfortable with ZB24FM and that it will be used in various applications." Freescale's ZigBee-compliant platform, which includes the MC13193 2.4 GHz RF chip, a low-voltage, low-power HCS08 MCU and both IEEE(R) 802.15.4 and the ZigBee protocol software, provides a robust, cost-effective, and easy-to-deploy solution. On-chip features and enhancements help to reduce external components and total bill of materials, while providing battery lifetimes of up to several years. "NEC Engineering is a leading company in system design, embedded software development, and solution proposition, and is highly evaluated and trusted in the industry for its system integration capability," said Mamoru Tomozane, general manager of the Freescale Wireless Group in Japan. "NEC's selection of our ZigBee-compliant platform for the ZB24FM module underscores the growing industry support for our solution and the increasing momentum of ZigBee technology."