Eric Griffith

Microsoft, the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant, has had great success over the years with small lines of hardware geared toward consumers. It was no different a year ago when they launched a line of 802.11b Wi-Fi products. For a while it looked like that might be all they’d ever do with Wi-Fi hardware. Today, however, […]

There’s never any lack of new chips coming out to support wireless LANs. Atheros Communications of Sunnyvale, Calif., one of the few pure-play WLAN chip companies — all they do is Wi-Fi chips at the moment — announced today its fourth generation of products, focusing on low power and extended range. Attempts to get low […]

Few doubt that Intel takes wireless seriously. Attendees of the twice-annual Intel Developer Forum (IDF), coming next week in San Jose, Calif., get an up-close look at what Intel thinks Wi-Fi is capable of in the form of a decked out, silver and black Fleetwood recreational vehicle (RV) dubbed the Digital Motor Coach . Previously […]

ReefEdge of Fort Lee, N.J., this week announced that it’s the first company with a wireless product to earn the government’s FIPS 140-2 certification — a critical certification for selling security systems to the federal government — at the second level of security. In addition, the ReefEdge Connect System is also ready for use by […]

“The networks at shows are complicated and messy, and companies are choosing AriMagnet to help clean that up.” That, according Rich Mironov, vice president of marketing at AirMagnet of Mountain View, Calif., is why his company is entering a formal relationship with showNets of Alpharetta, Ga., a company that sets up the networks and provides […]

In separate announcement today, a few wireless companies have been unveiling plans to move their technologies into use in mainland China soon — a country with a potential market of $900 million for wireless equipment by 2007 (according to Synergy Research Group). IPWireless of San Bruno, Calif., makers of a 3G-based (UMTS TD-CDMA standard) wireless […]

Wi-Fi is everywhere, right? Only if you count computers. The ubiquity of wireless LAN connections — say, in battery powered handheld devices — is still hampered by the high-power consumption of the connection. Not to mention the size of the chips; it prevents Wi-Fi from appearing in many small form factors. Maybe that’s all about […]

Today, Gateway of Poway, Calif., announced a new line of Wi-Fi products targeting home PC connectivity. John Schindler, manager of connectivity products at Gateway, says the technology of Wi-Fi has matured enough and is easy enough now for consumers to master. The company announced six new products in all, each priced under $99, consisting of […]

This week, GRIC Communications of Milpitas, Calif., and STSN, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, announced that STSN’s network of 580 broadband-enable hotels — 427 of which use Wi-Fi — would become part of the virtual network GRIC offers to subscribers. GRIC’s TierOne Network has over 2,300 locations now, with a mixture of Wi-Fi and […]

Aruba Wireless Networks announced this week that its Aruba 5000 modular switch and Aruba 52 802.11a/b access points have been tested and certified for Wi-Fi interoperability by the Wi-Fi Alliance. The tests were done by outside lab Agilent ICL and was specifically for dual-band interoperability in the 2.4GHz and 5GHz spectrums. Through internal testing, Aruba […]

The Internet Protocol Detail Record Organization (IPDR.org) is all about the single bill. This open consortium is for everyone from hardware makers to service providers to backend billing facilitators, none of whom get money from customers in the same way. Aron Heintz, president of IPDR.org says the group addresses the fact that in the Internet […]

Swedish company Possio, a maker of technologies for bridging different types of network connections such as Wi-Fi to Bluetooth, today announced that it has developed a product that will provide access point functions for hotspots or offices, as well as integrated backhaul. All the unit requires is electrical power, because the high speed connection back […]