The architecture includes SiRFaware self-assisted, micro-power GPS technology that enables consumer devices to always be location aware  without draining batteries and without requiring network aiding.

CSR says SiRFstarIV can continually maintain 'better-than-hot-start' conditions in the GPS receiver for fast location fixes without having to be kept fully turned on all the time. It consumes 50 to 500 microamperes of current.

The company believes the technology will provide widespread use of GPS in digital still cameras and camcorders, hand-held games and a variety of portable consumer electronics devices.

The SiRFstarIV architecture core is comprised of a high-performance GPS location engine, smart location sensor interface, adaptive micro-power manager and active jammer remover.

This provides twice the search capacity of the SiRFstarIII architecture enhancing sensitivity, reducing time-to-fix and improving positional accuracy.

Advanced micro-power management and integrated switched-mode regulation provides the hot-start conditions with minimal energy while intelligent MEMs sensor support (for accelerometers and other sensors) improves the location experience, enabling greater contextual awareness, more sophisticated energy management and enhanced indoor positional accuracy.

Advanced DSP technology that actively searches for jammers and removes them prior to correlation for maximum GPS performance and design troubleshooting.

The GSD4t receiver provides navigation to -160 dBm, tracking to -163 dBm and pass margins for E911 and 3GPP. It can maintain its full rated -160-dBm acquisition sensitivity without network assistance. It requires 8 mW in 1-Hz TricklePower mode  two and a half times less than the SiRFstarIII.

SiRFstarIV GSD4t provides active jamming removal, single-SAW design, an on-chip LNA, fail-safe I/O, integrated switchers, single supply voltage, and simple RF matching.

Available in a 42-ball, 0.4-mm pitch wafer level chip scale package (WLCSP), the GSD4t combines RF receiver, baseband, switcher and low-current LDOs on a single chip, and requiring only six to eight external passive components and a single SAW to provide a complete solution.

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CSR buys SiRF to beef up GPS capabilities