Santa Clara, CA — August 16, 2007 — California Eastern Laboratories and LS Research have signed an exclusive global agreement to design, manufacture and market miniature transceiver modules for ZigBee and other low cost, low power IEEE 802.15.4 data transmission applications. Based on Freescale’s™ MC13192 transceiver IC and MC9S08GT60 microprocessor, the CEL/LSR Freestar module is a fully-integrated, drop-in RF transceiver solution that is ideal for office and building automation, applications including HVAC and lighting control, and security systems. Fully FCC and CE-certified and RoHS compliant, it features an integrated 100mW power amplifier and provides up to 4000 feet of range line of sight. LSR has also streamlined the communications protocol, resulting in the lowest power consumption in transmit mode of any module on the market.

“Our customers are demanding broader, more integrated solutions,” states Paul Minton, CEL’s president and CEO. “These modules not only meet those needs, they allow CEL to enter new markets worldwide. LSR is an acknowledged leader in RF hardware and software development, plus their Certification Center can handle the certification of these products, eliminating that costly and time-consuming process for our customers. We’re very excited about partnering with LSR in the emerging ZigBee market.”

“CEL’s sales, marketing, customer support, and global supply chain expertise is a perfect complement to LSR’s design strengths,” says Bill Steinke, president of LS Research. “Plus their long-time alliance with NEC provides access to world-class semiconductor technology.”

The Freestar is the first in a series of ZigBee modules to be introduced. Additional products based on transceiver ICs from Ember™ and Texas Instruments™ will be introduced in the fall. Manufacturing and supply chain management of these modules will be the responsibility of CEL. The modules will be available worldwide through CEL sales offices as well as though the company’s representatives and franchised distributors.

About CEL

California Eastern Laboratories is NEC Electronics’ exclusive sales, marketing and development partner in the Western Hemisphere for the products made by NEC-EL’s Compound Semiconductor Device Division. CEL serves design engineers,
EOEMs and contract manufacturers in the RF & Wireless, Mobilecomm, Multimedia, Broadband Infrastructure, Industrial Control, and Automated Test Equipment markets. CEL high frequency solutions are based on broad applications knowledge and over 45 years’ design and product development experience. CEL has sales offices throughout the country, plus a network of independent representatives and distributors throughout North and South America.


PRESS RELEASECalifornia Eastern Laboratories
4590 Patrick Henry Drive • P.O. Box 54964 • Santa Clara, CA 95054-1817 • 408-988-3500 • FAX 408-988-0279 • http://www.cel.com