First smartphone to natively communicate with ULP ANT+ network of health and fitness devices

ANT Wireless ("ANT" www.thisisant.com), a division of Dynastream Innovations Inc., and Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN) today showcase the Sony Ericsson Xperia™ arc, the first commercially available smartphone to natively communicate with the ultra-low power (ULP) ANT+ network of health and fitness devices.  Featured as part of TI's exhibition at Mobile World Congress (MWC), Booth 8A84 Hall 8, these mobile solutions lead the industry in the real-time collection and transfer of physiological data to the cloud.

This ANT+ connectivity is enabled by TI’s WiLink™ 6.0 triple-radio single-chip solution, native in Sony Ericsson’s Xperia™ arc as well as the newly-announced Xperia™ neo and Xperia™ pro.  The high-end Xperia™ smartphones (including the Xperia™ X10 mini, Xperia™ X10 mini pro and Xperia™ X8) signify the market’s first line of ANT+ enabled mobile handsets. These smartphones can leverage the WiLink solution to link directly with the established ANT+ ecosystem of more than 14 million ULP health and fitness devices.  

Daily MWC demonstrations will incorporate ANT+ bike speed and bike cadence data transmitting via the WiLink chip to the Xperia™ arc, and seamlessly to the cloud with apps by Endomondo,  Sportypal, and Wahoo Fitness.  ANT+ Heart Rate and Blood Pressure data will also be displayed on the Xperia™ arc.

"This milestone and these MWC demonstrations represent major advancements to connect consumers with mobile handsets and ANT+ ultra low power wireless sensor devices," stated Eran Sandhaus, director of marketing, wireless connectivity solutions, TI.  "TI is committed to giving consumers an incredibly simple and efficient way to collect and use fitness and health data.  We are proud to make that possible today through this collaboration with ANT Wireless and Sony Ericsson."  

"This advancement in smartphones and the Xperia™ arc is playing an exciting role in the collection, tracking and transfer of personal activities to designated providers," stated Simon Walker, Head of Developer Ecosystem and Account Management, Sony Ericsson.  "Collectively, we provide the ubiquitous and fun solution consumers need to easily make health and fitness a part of daily life."  

The TI, ANT+ Cycling Challenge

Proving the real-world application of the joint demonstration, attendees visiting TI's MWC booth will have the opportunity to test their own cycling strength and speed by participating in the TI, ANT+ Cycling Challenge.  A racing bike mounted on LeMond's Revolution indoor trainer is equipped with ANT+ sensors, giving visitors the opportunity to compare 'best data' scores.  

"Integrating the best technologies with intuitive, practical products gives consumers  access to real-time, reliable feeds and long-term trend information anywhere, anytime," said Rod Morris, Director, ANT Wireless.  "TI and Sony Ericsson are really paving the way for an incredible offering of practical and valuable consumer products."  

Optimized for mobile devices, TI's WiLink 6.0 single-chip solution supports WLAN, ANT, Bluetooth® and FM radios. The WiLink 7.0 platform, the industry's first quad-radio single-chip solution, adds GPS to the list. These solutions also enable direct ANT+ sensors to mobile phone communication. ANT and TI recently released the CC2567, the first dual-mode single-chip solution delivering ANT+ and Bluetooth® connectivity, and the complementary ANT + Bluetooth Health and Fitness Aggregator Kit .