Named a 'CES Innovations 2014 Design & Engineering Award Honoree' - Echo utilizes a Nordic µBlue™ nRF8001 Bluetooth low energy Connectivity IC

Oslo, Norway - February 21, 2013 - Ultra low power (ULP) RF specialist Nordic Semiconductor ASA (OSE: NOD) today announces that Magellan, a leading developer of smart watches, cloud services, and GPS devices, for vehicles, sports, outdoor and mobile navigation, has selected a Nordic µBlue™ nRF8001 Bluetooth low energy Connectivity IC ('Integrated circuit' or 'chip') to provide the Bluetooth Smart connectivity in its Echo sports watch. Echo can stream and display smartphone sports app data for up to 11 months under typical usage.

The ultra low power operating characteristics of the Nordic nRF8001 help enable the Magellan Echo to be powered by a single CR2032 coin cell ('watch') battery. This supports a traditional light-weight (44g) sports watch form-factor while leveraging Bluetooth Smart wireless technology to connect to the latest smartphone sports apps and GPS functionality.

"Echo is the real sporting smart watch," comments Clark Weber, Senior Director of Fitness & Wearable Products at Magellan. "It was designed by athletes who use these kinds of products daily, and as a result has all the light-weight, small form-factor, and extended battery life benefits of a traditional sports watch while supporting the latest smartphone sporting app functionality."

The Echo from Magellan puts the power of the users' favorite smartphone apps right on their wrist, including the ability to remotely control common smartphone functions such as music replay, all built into a product with a sleek design that can also function as an everyday watch. Magellan has also added additional specialized app support on the Echo for golf, skiing, hiking, running, and other outdoor activities.

"The Echo provides both professional and weekend athletes with a new tool that improves not only their performance during their activity, but also creates a personalized data set that can be analyzed over time," adds Weber. "In contrast, many competing 'smart watch' products available today suffer from enormous power drains and so typically have to be re-charged every two or three days, which is very inconvenient for end users."

"Until only a few years ago the digital watch market looked to be in terminal decline with people tending to use their smartphones instead," comments Geir Langeland, Nordic Semiconductor's Director of Sales and Marketing. "But Bluetooth Smart has gone a long way towards making digital watches relevant again because the wrist is still the ideal place to access at-a-glance information while pursuing an activity, particularly when it leverages the advanced capabilities of modern smartphone sports and fitness apps."

The Magellan Echo is available globally and has a suggested retail price in the US of $149.99 (or $199.99 with an optional Bluetooth Smart heart rate monitor) and is available from major retail outlets.

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