Chipcon has launched what it says is the first system-on-a-chip Zigbee implementation, allowing a device to be enabled for the short-range wireless technology for as little as £2.

The CC21430 design incorporates a radio, a programmable microcontroller, 8Kb Ram, and up to 128KB flash memory. Zigbee is similar to Bluetooth in providing low-power, low- range radio links but is currently used mostly to monitor populations of sensors in mesh networks in which data hops from client to client. However it is also being pushed as a way to remote-control consumer electronic devices in the home.

The CC21430 comes in three configurations containing 32KB, 64KB and 128KB of Flash and costing respectively $3.30, $3.60 and $3.90. www.chipcon.com