Japanese site Blog of Mobile has just dug up a Wi-Fi Alliance listing for a portable gadget from Samsung called the GT-N8010. It passed the certification process on December 21 and is suspected of being a successor to the Galaxy Note. It will handle 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi bands.
Dell's plans for its Streak tablet sequel were firmed up on Thursday with official and semi-official listings. A Wi-Fi Alliance certification (PDF) lists the M02M, a number up from the Streak's M01M and a direct successor as a result. The clue reveals the presence of 802.11n Wi-Fi that the existing Streak doesn't have.
The Wi-Fi Alliance has quietly certified Samsung's Galaxy S line as the first to officially support the new Wi-Fi Direct standard. The approval gives at least the reference phone, but also likely variants such as the Fascinate and Vibrant, support for the direct wireless sharing feature. Support had been almost exclusively limited to Wi-Fi chipsets until now.
The Wi-Fi Alliance today started certifying devices to use Wi-Fi Direct, its new standard for creating point-to-point links. The standard builds on the basic concept behind Bluetooth and lets a Wi-Fi device pair directly with another without having to first join a local network. The method makes it possible to share media from a phone, play multiplayer games or otherwise communicate directly, even when no router exists
What is believed to be the successor to the touchscreen-equipped LG Arena has been spotted (PDF) passing testing at the Wi-Fi Alliance. Little is known about the LG Arena Max LU9400, other than that it will have Wi-Fi capability. It will also presumably retain the touchscreen interface, though it isn't likely to have a smartphone-grade operating system such as Windows Mobile or Android.
The Wi-Fi Alliance today unveiled a new standard it hopes will make Wi-Fi the de facto standard for peer-to-peer wireless. Known as Wi-Fi Direct, it will turn any supporting device into an access point and let it auto-discover other compatible hardware nearby. The technique will not only simplify ad hoc networks, reducing the need for a dedicated router, but will let peripherals use Wi-Fi where they couldn't have before: cameras, mice and other devices could work without needing any special setup.
The Wi-Fi Alliance on Thursday said that the final version of the 802.11n Wi-Fi standard should effectively remain the same as it is in the Draft 2.0 spec. The organization says that the test program for the finished version will only have some "optional additions" to support some minor new features. Choosing the conservative approach will result in most Draft 2.0 devices already supporting the final 802.11n format without any changes or even having to change logos.
