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5th January 2012

Cambridge Consultants helps Armour innovate the Bluetooth car kit market

Engineering expertise elicits maximum value from electronics to give competitive edge

Cambridge Consultants, a leading technology design and development firm, is demonstrating the new Talk 2 and Play 2 Bluetooth car kits developed for Armour Automotive (www.armourauto.com), a subsidiary of Armour Group PLC, at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES).  The next generation of Bluetooth car kits offer superior functionality and audio quality at a highly competitive price-point. The Talk 2 and Play 2 connect to Bluetooth-enabled smartphones, MP3 devices and SatNavs for conducting phone calls and playing music, and are the only devices of their kind available to offer simultaneous connection of two devices without losing functionality on either device.

The Talk 2 and Play 2 family is designed for professional retro-fit and offers almost instantaneous synchronisation on start-up, enabling users to make calls or play music significantly sooner after connection than other devices on the market. The music databases of iPods and iPhones can be browsed through the car kit interface on the dashboard to make controls easier and safer for drivers, and a novel user interface ensures that music can be found in only a few clicks even when the database contains many thousands of tracks.

The products are based on Cambridge Consultants’ own XAP processor core, and uses CSR’s BlueCore5 with built-in Digital Signal Processing. Using its extensive Bluetooth expertise, Cambridge Consultants was able to deliver all the connectivity through a single Bluetooth chip, thereby reducing component costs significantly. Through these cost savings, Armour was able to invest in higher sound quality and additional features and functionality whilst still competing on cost in an already established market.

George Dexter, Chief Executive of Armour Group, commented, “We approached Cambridge Consultants for this project because of its background in both Bluetooth technology and understanding what it takes to create a radically innovative consumer product.  It was their expertise in these areas that has enabled us to offer a product with superior features at an existing price point. Through this development, we have been able to give consumers a hugely better product in a well established market.”

“Working with Armour on this project is an excellent example of how innovative engineering can get far more functionality from established components to deliver commercially competitive products,” added Duncan Smith, Head of Product Development at Cambridge Consultants.

Both products can be seen at CES in Las Vegas (10-13th January 2012). Cambridge Consultants is at stand 3031 in the North Hall of the Convention Center.

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