GREENSBORO, N.C., July 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- RF Micro Devices, Inc. (Nasdaq: RFMD), a global leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance semiconductor components, today announced it is commencing volume shipments of its POLARIS® RF solutions in support of six new feature-rich multimedia handsets. All six handsets are expected to be available in the second half of calendar 2008.
Eric Creviston, president of RFMD's Cellular Products Group (CPG), said, "We are very pleased to commence volume shipments of POLARIS into these new handsets in support of multiple customers. Our highly successful POLARIS 2 has shipped more than 100 million units and is a field-proven solution. Our newer-generation POLARIS 3, which continues to ramp successfully, delivers a smaller total solution size, improved ease of RF implementation and increased platform portability from handset to handset."
The shipments are in support of multiple leading handset manufacturers, and the handsets range from entry level multimedia handsets to multi-function, multimedia smartphones. RFMD's volume shipments include POLARIS 2, POLARIS 3 and POLARIS 3 Silver. POLARIS 3 Silver combines the performance advantages of POLARIS 3 with RFMD's patent pending MicroShield™ integrated RF shielding to reduce time-to-market and minimize cost of implementation.
Based upon existing customer forecasts, RFMD® currently anticipates POLARIS revenue will increase sequentially in the September 2008 and December 2008 quarters, and RFMD currently expects sales of its POLARIS RF solutions will extend into calendar year 2011. On May 6, 2008, RFMD announced it had discontinued development of future-generation, 3G RF solutions. The Company continues to fully support its successful EDGE RF solutions, including POLARIS 2, POLARIS 3 and POLARIS 3 Silver.
