Consumer electronics - Wireless makes it easy to find, manage and control content on connected devices

 

Consumers have never had so much choice in terms of digital content and services, or such a challenging time accessing it. The Nordic ultra-low power (ULP) wireless technology already installed in millions of wireless PC peripherals worldwide is the solution. In products such as connected (Internet-enabled) TVs, for example, it supports RF remote controls with advanced navigation features such as touchpads, touchscreens, and QWERTY keyboards, without suffering interference from bright light sources (e.g. LED TVs) that affect IR.

 

 

Quick Start Tools

 

Nordic offers the following reference designs to speed up your product development:

Reference Design	Bluetooth low energy	ANT	2.4GHz	Gaxell	Multi- protocol capable	Keyboard	Mouse	Multi- touch trackpad	Freespace motion sensing
nRFready Smart Remote 2	X		X	X	X	X		X	X

 

Please go to the nRF product pages that are linked from the device selector table further down to read about development tools and software support for each relevant nRF product.

 

 

The Nordic competitive edge

 

Nordic Semiconductor's ULP wireless range provides attractive solutions for any consumer electronics device that would benefit from a wireless link by offering:

• Class-leading battery lifetimes– Years of lifetime using regular AA or AAA cells
• Ease-of-use– Works 'out-of-the-box' without complex pairing procedures
• Multi-protocol SoCs - Single chip solutions capable of running more than one protocol on-chip, including Bluetooth low energy and ANT
• Pin compatible SoCs - Drop-in replacement devices across different protocol platforms
• Protocol/Application independence - Clear separation between application and protocol code
• Robust wireless connectivity – Excellent co-existence performance with other popular 2.4 GHz wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
• Attractive price point – Single chip solutions with low cost external Bill of Materials (BoM) supporting entry-level product pricing

 

 

Nordic offers the following wireless technologies for Consumer electronics

 

2.4GHz RF ICs

If you have very specific application demands and no requirements for interoperability through standards such as Bluetooth low energy or ANT, then proprietary protocols sometimes provide the best alternative. When this is the case, 2.4 GHz proprietary solutions often offer the greatest flexibility, best power consumption, and lowest Bill of Material. Nordic provide the Gazell proprietary protocol to serve these applications.

 

Gazell is a freely distributed, simple to use, low-power protocol developed for use with Human Interface Devices (HID) peripherals. Gazell is designed for systems that have asymmetrical power consumption requirements where a central hub may have relatively relaxed power demand requirements while communicating with a number of peripheral devices that have much more stringent power efficiency needs. HID applications include mouse, keyboard, remote controls, presenters, and drawing tablets.

 

Bluetooth® low energy

Bluetooth low energy (branded as Bluetooth Smart and Bluetooth Smart Ready) is an exciting technology that is becoming a standard feature in PC's and mobile devices. Bluetooth Smart Ready devices form the hub of our personal area networks, these include smartphones and tablets as well as dedicated hub products. Bluetooth Smart devices are the peripheral sensors that typically capture data and relay data to and from the hubs. Bluetooth low energy profiles are already available for a range of different applications.

 

For more information about Bluetooth low energy visit www.bluetooth.org

 

 

Nordic IC offering

 

The nRF51 Series is Nordic's latest generation of ULP wireless System on Chip IC's that again sets the benchmark in this field. The nRF51 Series is based on the 32 bit ARM Cortex-M0 CPU and Nordic's leading multiprotocol radio and supports Bluetooth low energy, ANT, and 2.4GHz proprietary solutions. Across the range pin-compatibility allows for drop-in replacement of device types where application requirements differ with no requirement for redesign of circuit layout. The innovative software architecture ensures an absolute separation between application code and protocol stacks, and enables you to maintain one code base for products using different wireless technologies.

 

The nRF24L Series SoCs are the most common solution for wireless PC peripherals in the market today. Based on an enhanced 8051 CPU and Nordic's radio technology, the nRF24L Series SoCs represent an extremely popular, cost-effective, and proven choice for PC peripheral development.

 

 

Device Selector Table for Consumer Electronics

 

Device	Bluetooth low energy	ANT	2.4GHz	Multi-protocol capable	32-bit CPU	8-bit CPU	Series pin-compatible	USB	Flash	OTP
nRF51822	x		x	x	x		x		x
nRF24LE1			x			x			x
nRF24LU1P			x			x		x	x
nRF24LE1-OTP			x			x				x
nRF24LU1P-OTP			x			x		x		x