June 10, 2014 – Broadcom, a global wired and wireless semiconductor company, announced two new Bluetooth Smart SoCs today. The two newly announced Broadcom Bluetooth Smart SoCs will be cost-effective solutions for OEMs producing peripheral products and will enhance the experience of home entertainment and mobile computing technologies for customers.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, commonly found in digital TVs, OTT boxes, set-top boxes, PCs, and tablets, are driving massive demand in smart devices such as remote controls, keyboards, and mice. Broadcom’s new Bluetooth Smart chips, the BCM20734 and BCM20738, apply Broadcom’s connectivity expertise to the growing peripheral market.

The BCM20738 is the latest Bluetooth Smart product that reduces the overall Bill of Material (BOM) for OEMs across a diverse range of peripheral product families. Meanwhile, the BCM20734 reduces the cost of next-generation remote control voice search functions for OEMs by directly integrating an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) into the Bluetooth Smart chip.

In addition, the BCM20734 is the first chip to support both Bluetooth Smart and Bluetooth Classic, providing good performance even in connected homes with heavy traffic between devices. Consumers can enjoy seamless connectivity and an ideal environment between new Bluetooth Smart-enabled keyboards and mice and their existing PCs, even if their PC models only support Bluetooth Classic technology.

Rahul Patel, Vice President and General Manager of Product Marketing for Broadcom’s Wireless Connectivity Combo (WCC) Group, stated, “Broadcom plans to continue innovating within the expanding Bluetooth Smart ecosystem. The new Bluetooth Smart chips for remote control and peripherals help OEMs reduce costs and deliver an enhanced experience to consumers, serving as an ideal complement to the industry-leading combo chips in today’s connected home products.”

The BCM20734 is the industry's first dual-mode chip that enables keyboards and mice to interact with computing platforms via Bluetooth Smart or Bluetooth Classic; it integrates an ADC for voice search capabilities and reduces component costs for OEMs. The BCM20738 provides OEMs with a low-cost solution for single-mode Bluetooth Smart devices.

To further reduce system costs, the BCM20734 and BCM20738 do not require a separate crystal to maintain connectivity when the device is inactive for an extended period, and they support Windows and Android host devices. The BCM20734 and BCM20738 ADKs (application development kits) enable developers to develop various applications.