San Ramon, CA - The ZigBee Alliance, a global ecosystem of companies creating wireless solutions for use in home, commercial, and industrial applications, announced it has reached three key milestones with its members shipping more than 10,000 developer kits, the certification of its 13th ZigBee-compliant platform (ZCP), and the processing of 29,000+ free downloads of the specification in one year.
ZigBee Certified Platforms: With the addition of a newly certified ZCP from RadioPulse in Korea, the alliance offers 13 ZCPs and the most robust supply chain of platforms for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) investigating choices for new ZigBee products. ZigBee-compliant platforms include the IEEE 802.15.4 radio and the ZigBee stack up to the application layer and will be available as either chips or modules.
Developers Kits: Shipments of ZigBee developer kits continue to accelerate, and with more than 10,000 develop kits sold, estimates show that ZigBee Alliance member companies have trained thousands of engineers. Additionally, ZigBee recently hosted its second annual developers' conference and the alliance continues to see demand for the three-day event for hardware and software developers interested in incorporating ZigBee technology into new products. ZigBee Specification: With more than 29,000 free downloads since June 2005, it ranks as the third most downloaded IEEE 802 standard. Only the well-established 802.11 and Ethernet have earned more downloads.
"These are all leading indicators for the number of ZigBee products being built by OEMs," said Jim Sekinger, director of business development, digital systems, Philips Lighting Electronics. "We are 100% committed to ZigBee and as a promoter company in the alliance, and we are aggressively supporting the alliance's efforts, along with our own, to push the alliances' agenda in getting ZigBee-certified product to market."
"The ZigBee Alliance is clearly on the right path when you look at very strong growth in leading market indicators like developer kits and spec downloads," said Bob Heile, chairman of the ZigBee Alliance. "With six of the world's top 10 semiconductor manufacturers as members and a number of other talented chip makers, the alliance enjoys the strongest, most diverse supply chain possible. With these top companies shipping so many kits, you can bet the floodwaters of ZigBee products will be deep."
Alliance members are selling radios, software, tools, services, and end-user products based on ZigBee for the residential, commercial, and industrial markets. The alliance continues to attract new members, especially OEMs. Already this year, three large OEMs—Huawei Technologies, Schneider Electric, and Siemens—along with global semiconductor supplier STMicroelectronics have all increased their memberships to the highest level (Promoters) and have taken seats on the ZigBee Alliance Board.
ZigBee: Wireless Control That Simply Works
The ZigBee Alliance is an association of companies working together to enable reliable, cost-effective, low-power, wirelessly networked, monitoring and control products based on an open global standard. The ZigBee Alliance membership comprises technology providers and OEMs worldwide. Membership is open to all. Additional information can be found at the alliance's Web site.