Here's Why Apple's in bed w/Intel HOT WIRELESS chips...
... that use LESS power !!!
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index....77;fp;2;fpid;1
"Intel builds all-in-one wireless radio package"
"The device currently supports 802.11a/b/g, but it should have enough bandwidth to also support the forthcoming 802.11n standard, High said. Intel believes the integrated design will help customers build cheaper and more power efficient devices, he said."
"By eliminating as many discrete chips as possible, Intel was able to reduce the power consumption of the package and lower the cost of building wireless networking technology into a notebook, mobile phone, or personal digital assistant, Intel researchers said in a paper outlining their accomplishment.
The current design is only a prototype, and additional testing and validation is needed before Intel will start producing the chip in large volumes, High said. Given that wireless communication chips also require government approval before they can be sold, Intel is probably at least two years away from selling these chips, he said.
Intel's ultimate goal is to build a communications chip that can connect to any type of network, be it a Wi-Fi LAN, a wide-area network based on the WiMax technology it is heavily promoting, or personal-area networks like Bluetooth or UWB (ultrawideband), High said.
By 2007, the company expects to build an integrated chip with separate radios for the various networks, and hopes to eventually build chips with "cognitive" or software-defined radios that can connect to multiple types of networks on their own."
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index....77;fp;2;fpid;1
"Intel builds all-in-one wireless radio package"
"The device currently supports 802.11a/b/g, but it should have enough bandwidth to also support the forthcoming 802.11n standard, High said. Intel believes the integrated design will help customers build cheaper and more power efficient devices, he said."
"By eliminating as many discrete chips as possible, Intel was able to reduce the power consumption of the package and lower the cost of building wireless networking technology into a notebook, mobile phone, or personal digital assistant, Intel researchers said in a paper outlining their accomplishment.
The current design is only a prototype, and additional testing and validation is needed before Intel will start producing the chip in large volumes, High said. Given that wireless communication chips also require government approval before they can be sold, Intel is probably at least two years away from selling these chips, he said.
Intel's ultimate goal is to build a communications chip that can connect to any type of network, be it a Wi-Fi LAN, a wide-area network based on the WiMax technology it is heavily promoting, or personal-area networks like Bluetooth or UWB (ultrawideband), High said.
By 2007, the company expects to build an integrated chip with separate radios for the various networks, and hopes to eventually build chips with "cognitive" or software-defined radios that can connect to multiple types of networks on their own."
Comments
Originally posted by DanMacMan
Considering how quickly Apple jumped on the 802.11_ bandwagon, I would suspect WiMax would be no different. Although there are certain things beyond Apple's control in this regard, merely supporting the standard would seemingly help move the technology along.
If WiMax is ultrawideband the power usage should drop to about 1/10 but I guess the chips are too new there does not seem to be much tech data on them yet.
Although the article makes it sound like the current chips are very wasteful of energy.
WiMax is not based on UWB.
You can't cheat physics; if you want some sort of wireless WAN with miles of range it's going to use much more power than a wireless LAN with hundreds of feet of range.
Originally posted by wmf
WiMax is not based on UWB.
Yea. WiMax is microwave, and doesn't need line-of-sight.
Yea. WiMax is microwave, and doesn't need line-of-sight.
Depending on the type of antenna used. Ever seen those big "dishes" on top of buildings? Those are microwave as well and they do need line-of-sight allignment.
Wifi is also microwave, cell-phones are also microwave.
The higher the frequency, the more line-of-sight it requires. If you want higher bandwidth (more info. transfered), you have to go to higher frequency and use more power. No way around it.
If you want to have miles of range at broadband type speed, and have bandwidth for everyone, you have to transmit at a frequency of several GHz. At that frequency, line-of-sight is important. (bandwidth slice for each user is going to me in MHz range)
The biggest problem with WiMax, once it hits mainstream (if it does), is the cell size. Each cell will be huge and the potential number of users per cell will be huge. They have problems with current GPRS cells as it is. The current cell size (distance between cell-phone towers) is limited by cell's ability to carry enough users, not the signal propagation distance.
Originally posted by skatman
Depending on the type of antenna used. Ever seen those big "dishes" on top of buildings? Those are microwave as well and they do need line-of-sight allignment.
Wifi is also microwave, cell-phones are also microwave.
The higher the frequency, the more line-of-sight it requires. If you want higher bandwidth (more info. transfered), you have to go to higher frequency and use more power. No way around it.
If you want to have miles of range at broadband type speed, and have bandwidth for everyone, you have to transmit at a frequency of several GHz. At that frequency, line-of-sight is important. (bandwidth slice for each user is going to me in MHz range)
The biggest problem with WiMax, once it hits mainstream (if it does), is the cell size. Each cell will be huge and the potential number of users per cell will be huge. They have problems with current GPRS cells as it is. The current cell size (distance between cell-phone towers) is limited by cell's ability to carry enough users, not the signal propagation distance.
Sorry, I wasn't implying that "microwave == no line-of-sight". WiMax is supposed to be independent of line-of-sight issues. I've heard that there is a 30 mile range with up to 1 megabit up and down. Though I recall hearing something about the 30 mile range being rather exaggerated. Personally, I'm also interested in 3G as well as the 4G that DoCoMo mentioned recently.