Akustica with four new HD voice microphones

“There is a groundswell of support behind HD voice from wireless carriers, mobile chipset suppliers and mobile-device manufacturers,” said Davin Yuknis, vice president, sales and marketing, Akustica. “That’s because the HD voice experience mirrors the emotional nuance of a conversation to the point where you feel as if you are talking face-to-face and not over a phone.” Market Growth for Microphones According to Jérémie Bouchaud, director and principal analyst for MEMS & Sensors at IHS, the worldwide MEMS microphone market is expected to grow to more than 4 billion units by 2016, as compared to the 700 million shipped in 2010. The reason, he said, is that the number of microphones used in each smartphone has already gone from one to two and in some cases even three — a number that may continue to grow while mobile device manufacturers use sound input quality as a differentiating feature. “With a market this large, there is not only room for many suppliers, but multiple suppliers are often required by the biggest MEMS microphone purchasers,” said Bouchaud. “This represents a tremendous opportunity for reliable, high-volume MEMS microphone suppliers to provide the full portfolio of microphones needed by their customers.” Availability The AKU142, AKU342, AKU240 and AKU440 are currently sampling to lead customers, and will be ramping to mass production in Q1 2013.