Siano powers iPhone 3G mobile TV accessory in Japan

TOKYO, Japan — Leading mobile TV chip maker Siano Mobile Silicon announced today that its multi-standard MDTV receiver chip is powering the newly launched iPhone 3G accessory in Japan, supporting ISDB-T One Seg television broadcasting. SoftBank BB and SoftBank Mobile officially launched the innovative iPhone 3G ‘TV and Battery’ on the 31st Dec in Japan. The iPhone 3G accessory can be sold with every new iPhone 3G and also as an after-market accessory. Siano will be demonstrating MDTV broadcast to Softbank Mobile’s iPhone 3G ‘TV and Battery’ during the upcoming Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, from the 16th-19th February at Siano’s Hospitality Suite in Hall 4, Level 5, Room # 44.

The iPhone 3G accessory streams digital television to the iPhone 3G via Wi-Fi, based on Siano’s SMS1100 chip, which supports ISDB-T One Seg – the mobile TV broadcasting standard of Japan. In addition to mobile TV, the iPhone 3G accessory can provide redundant power for the iPhone 3G battery, practically functioning as a charger-on-the-go.
SoftBank BB’s iPhone 3G Sales Manager, Tomotaka Nakagawa, commented: “The iPhone 3G is all about having fun. We’re excited to launch this new innovative accessory, and we believe it will be very popular among iPhone 3G customers – especially in light of the high demand for mobile TV in Japan. Due to Siano’s high performance receiver chip, iPhone 3G users will now be able to enjoy exceptional quality digital TV in Japan.”

The iPhone 3G TV accessory represents a major design win for Siano in Japan, following the launch of its SMS1100 receiver chip with support for ISDB-T early in 2008, and the opening of its Japan offices in July.

Alon Ironi, CEO of Siano, commented: “To be selected for the iPhone TV&Battery accessory is testament to the high performance of our MDTV receiver chips. We look forward to providing Japan’s multimedia-savvy end-users with a superior mobile TV experience – high quality TV reception both indoors and on-the-go.”