Microwave Engineering Europe - November 2008 - (Page 10)

10 NEWS By JP Joosting, Microwave Engineering Europe IN BRIEF WLAN chip market to pass $4B in 2012 The worldwide wireless LAN (WLAN) semiconductor market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.8 percent through 2012, when it will pass the $4 billion mark, according to a study by market research ﬁrm IDC. PCs will remain the largest application segment for WLAN semiconductors, but mobile phone applications will grow at a CAGR of 49.3 percent and become the second-largest category for WLAN semiconductor revenue by 2012, according to IDC (Framingham, MA). IDC said it expects the MIMO (multiple-input and multiple-output) enhanced 802.11n technology to be the next growth driver for this market as the higher throughput and range provide a great opportunity for new applications and usage models. wwww.mwee.com/211800474 Single-stream 11n chips attack Wi-Fi mainstream Atheros Communications will try to drive 802.11n into mainstream Wi-Fi markets with a new line of chips using a streamlined version of the speciﬁcation. The company’s Align family uses only a single antenna to target 11g price points. Analysts said they expect other Wi-Fi chip makers to follow suit with their own singlestream 11n products. However, they also cautioned that the 11n market may face confusion from the emerging diversity of conﬁgurations. Today most 802.11n products use 2x2 MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) antennas to deliver as much as ten times the throughput of older 11g devices. However at nearly twice the cost, the 11n devices command only about a third the market share of 11g, despite the fact the Wi-Fi Alliance began certifying draft 11n products in June 2007. By stripping out support for multiple radios, Atheros is betting it can create a new class of higher volume 11n devices that hit the estimated $3-5 pricing of 11g parts but deliver better performance. The company estimates its Align parts can deliver two to four times the throughput of 11g at similar or better distances while maintaining lower power consumption. Speciﬁcally, Align chips can deliver 50 Mbits/s TCP throughput at close range using 20 MHz channels (107 Mbits/s using 40 MHz channels) compared to 24 Mbits/s for 11g. www.mwee.com/211800445 Mobile Internet device adopts WiMax to target mobile video chat Mobile video chat will be available in South Korea next year with the rollout of a WiMaxbased device from a Korean company that uses a chip set from San Diego-based NextWave Wireless. The M3 mobile Internet device developed by Digifriends (Seoul) will debut in the second half of 2009 using NextWave’s NW2000 WiMax chip set. The M3 features a 4.8-inch touchscreen, and comes with a 1.3-inch hard disk drive that will offer 30- to 60-Gbyte capacities. It will support video chat using VoIP and two digital cameras — a 2-megapixel camera for capturing still images and a Webcam. The WiMax chip set targets low-power portable devices that nevertheless must deliver high-end applications like video chat. NextWave claims its NW2000 chip set supports major WiMax RF bands while integrating support for backward-compatible Wi-Fi. It also supports NextWave’s MXtv mobile television service for WiMax network operators. www.mwee.com/211800475 French telecom startup raises $6.7 million French startup E-Blink, specialized in designing and developing equipment solutions for the deployment of base stations in mobile cellular networks, announced it has raised 5 million euros ($6.7 million) in a second round of funding, including 3.5 million euros from existing investor 360 Capital Partners and 1.5 million euros from I-Source and Alven Capital. E-Blink designs and develops alternative solutions for the deployment of mobile network base stations. The company’s core product line, EB1, is said to eliminate the need for coaxial cables or short range ﬁber optics on base stations. E-Blink’s EB1 system is available for 2G and 3G operating frequencies. Funds, said E-Blink, will serve to launch the company’s commercial deployment on an international scale and to support its R&D program, whilst simultaneously reinforcing its staff. Distribution agreements are already being discussed in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and India, the French startup speciﬁed. www.mwee.com/211800476 Groups partner for wireless commercial and industrial sensor nets Freescale Semiconductor and Nivis LLC, a leading developer and integrator of wireless network technologies, are to combine their respective technologies to provide a wired-to-wireless platform for commercial and industrial sensor mesh networks. The development platform will integrate a sensor interface, radio module, router/gateway, security manager and advanced network manager capabilities, as well as the software needed, for emerging wireless standards in the industrial and commercial sector. Marius Chilom, CEO of Nivis, comments, “We offer an array of high-quality options so wireless device builders can pick and choose the components that best serve their needs”. Multiple standards are supported on the same radio platform, which is a very appealing proposition for device developers. The platform will provide a fast and cost-effective means to evaluate ISA100.11a, WirelessHART and 6LoWPAN stacks on Freescale microcontrollers and embedded processors. Nivis is contributing the wireless connectivity software, and Freescale the embedded hardware options. www.mwee.com/211800477 Microwave Engineering Europe ● November 2008 ● www.mwee.com http://www.mwee.com/211800445 http://wwww.mwee.com/211800474 http://www.mwee.com/211800475 http://www.mwee.com/211800477 http://www.mwee.com/211800476 http://www.mwee.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Microwave Engineering Europe - November 2008

Microwave Engineering Europe - November 2008 News Contents Comment Cover Feature: RF Testing During the Installation and Maintenance of Wireless Network Base Stations MEMS: MEMS Commercialization: What's Taking So Long? MEMS: MEMS Market Demands New Foundry Strategies MMICS An 18 to 40 GHz Double Balanced Mixer MMIC MMICS The Ballooning RF Front End in Multi-Standard Handsets CMOS-On-Sapphire RF Switches Enable Multimedia Handsets Millimetre Wave Radio Technology Products Calendar

Microwave Engineering Europe - November 2008

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