CSR plc (LSE: CSR and NASDAQ: CSRE) today gave Apple iPhone® 4S application developers their first look at a new set of Mac OS® X tools designed to help them rapidly create exciting new Bluetooth low energy (BTLE) apps and accessories. The CSR µEnergyTM Tools for Mac OS X help developers to quickly experiment with and develop a broad range of fitness, medical, security and other business and personal applications for the Apple iPhone 4S that use Bluetooth low energy to communicate with sensors based on CSR µEnergy silicon.
“We believe that, with the introduction of Bluetooth low energy support in the iPhone 4S, the Bluetooth low energy market has reached a tipping point that will result in the rapid expansion of the market for BTLE accessories and sensors of all kinds, accompanied by a corresponding burst of hardware and software development effort,” said Anthony Murray, Senior Vice President of the Home Business Unit at CSR. “CSR is well positioned at the forefront of this emerging BTLE accessory ecosystem for the iPhone 4S with our industry leading µEnergy Tools for Mac OS X and low-power, single-chip µEnergy application platforms.”
The CSR µEnergy Tools for Mac OS provides everything developers need to get started creating BTLE applications for the iPhone 4S, including the CSR µEnergy development board. Based on the CSR1000TM µEnergy platform, the CSR single-mode Bluetooth low energy solution, the development board can be loaded with example software to simulate any one of several Bluetooth low energy accessories – including heart rate monitor, health thermometer and proximity tag – enabling developers to easily experiment with Bluetooth low energy capabilities in their iOS applications for the iPhone 4S.
As Paul Williamson, product marketing manager for health and fitness products at CSR, explains, "the heart rate monitor example helps application developers to create sports and fitness apps that track workouts and provide feedback and entertainment. The health thermometer example is the first of a range of health profiles that can be used to measure personal health. The proximity tag example allows an alarm to be sounded on the accessory when the iPhone 4S is out of range, or a button to be pushed on the accessory to raise an alert on the iPhone 4S in “find me” mode."
CSR µEnergy Tools for Mac OS X enhances the existing full µEnergy SDK used by hardware and accessory developers, enhancing their collaboration with software application developers to create more innovative accessories and provide consumers with a wider choice of applications.
CSR plans to further support the Apple accessory ecosystem by working with hardware ODMs and hardware developers to ensure that their accessory products can be programmed and customised using CSR µEnergy Tools for Mac OS X.
CSR has been at the forefront of the Bluetooth 4.0 standard, which includes the exciting new low energy features. Bluetooth low energy enhances existing applications, providing a single standard for remote controls, keyboards and pointing devices, while offering longer battery life and direct connection to mobile and personal computing devices. In addition, Bluetooth low energy provides connectivity to a range of devices previously limited by the power consumption, size constraints and complexity of other wireless technologies.
