Week of January 24-28, 2005
is making available an access point specifically for the cable market, designed for cable broadband operators to start creating their own local hotspot networks. The Nortel WLAN Cable Access Point 6220 comes with an AP unit, plus a corporate services unit (CSU) that can receive signals from the APU using directional or omni-directional antennas—thus serving even customers that can’t be reached by traditional cable. However, in hotspot mode, end-users connect directly to the AP as normal.
company, is offering a new $129 (MSRP) Wireless A/G Game Adapter (model WGA54AG), perhaps the first adapter for consoles like the Xbox and PlayStation 2 that supports 5GHz 802.11a along with 2.4GHz 11g. It can also be used as a wireless adapter on Windows Media Center Edition PCs. Using 11a, which gets less interference than 11b/g, Linksys says it won’t drop any frames when transferring video.
Week of January 17-21, 2005
For the record, Belkin’s “Pre-N” and Linksys’s MIMO products use TrueMIMO chips from Airgo; Netgear’s announced MIMO product will use technology from Video54. Another chip from Athena/Samsung doesn’t yet have any customer wins.
, the chipmaker is happy to report that the line of laptops coming out of China’s Lenovo Group—the computer line recently purchased from IBM—will feature the AR5005G 802.11g single-chip product from Atheros.
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Week of January 10-14, 2005
has launched an inexpensive access point that supports Power over Ethernet (PoE) as part of its small-to-medium business (SMB) line. The OfficeConnect Wireless 108Mbps 11g AP (model: 3CRGPOE10075) is made to complement the company’s 2226-PWR baseline Ethernet switch, which can provide power on all 24 ports. The unit uses Atheros SuperG turbo mode and eXtended Range technology, has full AES and WPA-PSK security support, supports multiple SSIDs and VLANs (up to four each), and comes in a very small size, all for $199. It can also do WDS bridging between networks (point-to-point or point-to-multipoint) and can act as a repeater, or even as a client. The company also has a new 108Mbps OfficeConnect PC Card (model: 3CRXJK10075) with the company’s patented retractable XJack antenna, which will sell for $79.
Week of January 3-7, 2005
Airgo and Atheros are both in different camps making proposals for what will eventually become the high-speed 802.11n standard, which will use MIMO. But don’t count on any of these chips actually working with real 802.11n products when they come out in a year or three.
also has a new chip out this week, the TNETW350, a single-chip 802.11a/b/g baseband/MAC. It will integrate with TI’s DSL and other communications platforms to build Wi-Fi easily into new products for the home market, and works with TI’s extended range radios for high-end equipment, or with its low power radios to work in mobile devices. They’ll all be available to customers in the second quarter.
. (Belkin also makes 11g products using Broadcom chips and so-called “pre-11n” MIMO products with silicon from Airgo). The new 11a/g line will include a router, PC Card, USB adapter, and PCI card. They’ll support Atheros SuperAG speed boost with a data rate of 108Mbps and the eXtended Range (XR) technology to get more, uh, range.
chips are the star in the new line from US Robotics. Branded as MAXg, the line will use Broadcom’s BroadRange technology with 802.11g to get 50 percent better distance, according to USR. They do this with a power increase to get a maximum signal of 19dB, compared to the usual 15dB in most Wi-Fi products. The Broadcom chips will also do 125Mbps with Broadcom’s speed boosts. The line will premiere with a router, PC Card and PCI adapter (all priced under $70 MSRP). Later, they’ll put out an access point and USB adapter—and a business grade MAXg AP will arrive soon after. USR is not using Broadcom’s SecureEasySetup technology to set up home WLAN security, however, opting to go instead with its own homebrewed software wizards.
has a new line of Home Network Cameras ready to monitor your dwelling. They can be used remotely and controlled remotely, even by an Internet-capable phone. They’ll also record video or stills and send notification of events, such as detecting motion. One model will pan and tilt; the other is still. Both support 802.11g and will be out in the summer. To go with them, Motorola has upgraded its monitoring software, which also runs its entire wireless Home Monitoring System, which includes a wireless siren, video controller, garage door controller, and more. Starter kit with video camera is $280; other kit for same price includes various home controls but no camera.
. It is specifically targeted toward use by first responders and for homeland security or military applications. It uses Sensoria’s WirelessFabric communications software, which is radio-independent and would work with various types of wireless. The EnRoute400 will run IP networks, and can bridge between networks.
to get video content on that system (wirelessly, natch). The two expect to complete something in 6 to 18 months.