Uk Oil & Gas Regulatory News (UKOG)

7 Mar 2006 07:01

Sarantel Group PLC07 March 2006 For immediate release 7 March 2006 Benefon's New TWIG Discovery Smartphone Navigates with a Sarantel GPS Antenna Wellingborough, UK - 7 March 2006 - Sarantel, the leading manufacturer ofrevolutionary filtering antennas for mobile and wireless devices, todayannounces that its GeoHelix(R) GPS antenna has been designed into the new TWIGDiscovery personal navigator and GSM mobile smartphone recently launched byBenefon Oyj of Finland. Benefon, a global leader in the design and manufactureof GSM+GPS mobile phones, selected the GeoHelix antenna for the TWIG because itssmall size and high performance enables Benefon to create a trulyconsumer-friendly, reliable, autonomous GPS navigation experience. Benefon has a long track record of providing high quality, high sensitivity GPSreceiver technology in products targeted at security, personnel and fleetmanagement. Announced at 3GSM in Barcelona, the TWIG Discovery extends thatheritage into innovative GSM mobile phones for consumers. "There are a lot of mobile phones on the market that claim GPS functionality,"said Jonathan Bate, Benefon's CEO. "True navigation is much easier to design andmore effective to implement when it's a consideration from the outset. TWIGincorporates Benefon's most advanced navigation technology resulting in areliable and precise navigation experience for the consumer. Sarantel's antennagave us the luxury of not having to compromise navigation performance whilekeeping the TWIG small enough to meet consumers' expectations," Bate concluded. The GeoHelix GPS antenna combines several properties that were important forTWIG. The antenna has a small near-field, so it doesn't detune or lose satellitesignals when users hold the phone in their hand or near their head. It acts asits own filter, rejecting noise from the GSM transceiver, which adverselyaffects GPS reception. Additionally, the GeoHelix antenna is omni-directional,providing good reception in random orientations so the user does not need tothink about where the antenna is pointing. These factors, along with theantenna's small size, meant that Benefon could embed the GPS antenna inside thephone rather than resorting to using one of the awkward, flip-up patch antennascommonly found in handheld navigation devices. It also means that consumerswon't need to purchase a separate wireless GPS device, or be dependent on theoperator for GPS network assistance. David Wither, Sarantel CEO says, "The TWIG Discovery really plays to thestrengths of our GeoHelix technology. The high performance, small size, andomni-directional nature of the antenna ideally suit mobile handsets, which needto work efficiently even when in close human contact. Consumers can remainblissfully unaware of the technology and appreciate the TWIG for itsportability, accuracy, and reliability. It was a privilege to work with thehighly experienced Benefon team on this excellent GPS/GSM integrated product." -ends- For further information please contact: Sarantel Group PLC www.sarantel.comDavid Wither, CEO/Sitkow Yeung, CFO 01933 670560Smithfield 020 7360 4900Sara Musgrave / Jo ThomasPictures are available for the media to view and download fromwww.vismedia.co.ukNotes to Editors: About Sarantel Sarantel designs, manufactures and sells patented, ceramic, filtering antennasfor use in portable wireless devices such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs),laptops and Third Generation (3G) mobile devices. Its current focus is onproducing antennas for the Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) market which allowa clearer signal than conventional antennas whilst reducing the amount of energyabsorbed by the body by approximately 90 per cent. The antennas simplify systemdesign, thus allowing design standardisation and reduced time to market and costfor manufacturers. As well as GPS, Sarantel's antenna technology is capable of servicing multipleemerging high volume markets such as Wi-Fi, 3G, Satellite Radio and Bluetooth.These markets are expected to be key in the future success of mobile networkoperators and device manufacturers. Sarantel's antennas significantly improvethe performance of wireless systems by increasing the range and effectivebandwidth. Sarantel listed on AIM, a market operated by the London Stock Exchange, on 2ndMarch 2005 and is included in the IT Hardware sector (93) within theTelecommunications equipment sub-sector (938) and has a RIC code of SLG.L About Benefon Benefon Oyj is a leader in GSM+GPS mobile telematics equipment and solutions.Professional and consumer applications include professional security, personalsafety, field and workflow management, asset tracking, and health. Headquarteredin Salo, Finland, Benefon has designed and manufactured mobile equipment for GSMand NMT cellular systems since 1988. Please visit http://www.benefon.com forfurther information. More information on Benefon's new product Twig Discoverycan also be found on www.twigme.com. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange