11/02, 3:50pm
Atheros AR6003 promises 85Mbps on phones
Atheros claimed a minor breakthrough on Monday through a new addition to its ROCm chips. The AR6003 is billed as not just a rare single-chip 802.11n Wi-Fi part for smartphones and other handhelds but also the fastest of its kind. It takes advantage of features that aren't always used in 802.11n to boost the maximum speed up to 85Mbps in real situations when on the 5GHz band. The technique has the side benefit of increasing the usable range of a handheld compared to older 802.11g wireless.
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09/15, 11:00am
Atheros puts 11n Wi-Fi and BT on 1 card
Atheros today unveiled a mini PCI Express card that it hopes could give netbooks and other small portables full wireless without the added bulk of a separate chipset. Known just as the AR9002WB-1NGB, it has both a single-stream 802.11n Wi-Fi connection and Bluetooth in a single package. The combo not only provides up to 150Mbps networking in ideal conditions but manages to avoid the interference that often plagues systems with separate Bluetooth; it automatically adjusts the transfer rates to avoid colliding data and to improve practical speeds.
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09/11, 5:25pm
IEEE approves 802.11n at last
The IEEE standards group today officially ratified 802.11n, the most recent standard for Wi-Fi. The move officially takes the wireless spec out of the draft status it has been in since 2006 and lets companies develop 11n hardware knowing that it will work properly with any device that supports the technology. Officials plan to publish the final standard in mid-October.
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05/19, 3:35pm
Atheros Wi-Fi Hotspot Chip
Atheros today unveiled a new cellphone chipset that could let cellphones host Internet connections as easily as with a typical wireless router. The AR6002 can run its Wi-Fi as a hotspot and can share its connection without the manually configured, ad hoc tethering over Bluetooth or USB normally needed to make the link. It can potentially save battery life for the devices connecting to the phone as it lets them idle or go to sleep where tethering requires both to be constantly alert.
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05/06, 10:05am
WiGig Alliance
Efforts to solidify very high-speed, short-range wireless gained steam today with the creation of the WiGig Alliance (site active soon). The organization is meant to produce a common standard for sending data over a 60GHz link and to streamline developing computers, handheld devices and home theater equipment that can use the wireless link. The ultra wideband technology is fast enough to run about 10 times as quickly as an 802.11n connection -- effectively, 1Gbps -- and has the headroom to not just stream HD video but also to allow for previously impossible features like fast wireless displays and syncing entirely over the wireless connection.
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03/17, 4:35pm
Wi-Fi chip shortage
Healthy netbook sales in China, India and other emerging markets for Realtek Semiconductor have the networking IC designer increasing its 802.11n Wi-Fi chip orders, spurring a shortage manufacturers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), according to a report in the Taiwan-area Commercial Times newspaper. Realtek has reportedly ordered one fifth more Wi-Fi chips in March than in February, and the shortage will last until June, according to a Chinese Commerical Times story. More than 8,000 Wi-Fi chip orders will be ordered in the second quarter.
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12/09, 11:50am
Open Handset Adds 14
The Open Handset Alliance today said it has added 14 new members to its group in a move that will bolster support for Google's new Android operating system. The new roster includes phone manufacturers such as ASUS, Sony Ericsson and Toshiba as well as prominent chipmakers like ARM and Atheros as well as carriers Softbank and Vodafone. GPS device maker Garmin is also included in the list.
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10/09, 4:00pm
Fujitsu tablet PC spotted
The Fujitsu ST6000-series Internet tablet PC first unveiled late last month has been spotted again, undergoing testing at the FCC, suggesting the product is that much closer to production. According to the included owner’s manual, the 12.1-inch tablet will sport a maximum 1600x1200 resolution and not, as previously advertised on the company website, 1920x1200. Other specs, however, such as its 1GB of RAM expandable up to 4GB and choice of two hard disk drives or a solid-state drive, are confirmed.
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06/23, 8:20am
Centrino 2 Mid July
Despite Intel's claims that Centrino 2's official appearance is due in August, some of the company's notebook processors and platform will appear in mid-July, according to reports. The chipmaker is now anticipated to launch all its mainstream mobile processors, including 2.53GHz and 2.8GHz full-power chips as well as 2.26GHz, 2.4GHz, and 2.53GHz low-power models, on July 14th. Mobile chipsets for notebooks using dedicated graphics will also be available at the same time.
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