Intel Expands Wireless Options
Intel on Tuesday announced the availability of the Intel PRO/Wireless 2100 LAN MiniPCI adapter as a standalone component for device makers. The adapter is currently available in volume and costs a little more than $40 in 1,000-unit quantities, according to Intel. The adapter is already a part of Intels Centrino bundle of chips. The adapter consists of Intel-developed silicon supporting the 802.11b MAC, an 802.11b baseband chip codeveloped by Intel and Symbol Technologies and an 802.11b radio chip from Philips Semiconductor. Technology from Texas Instruments is also used in the adapter.
Read the full story on: CNET News.com
Microsoft Dives into VoIP with CE .Net 4.2
Microsoft on Wednesday unveiled a Windows CE .NET-based Voice over IP (VoIP) solution that paves the way for the integration of voice communications with a variety of IP-based client devices and services, including PCs and mobile phones, at the Spring 2003 Voice on the Net Trade Show & Expo in San Jose, Calif. The Windows CE .NET advancements will include a sample Telephony User Interface (TUI), a VoIP Application Interface Layer (VAIL) and an advanced real time communications/Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) network protocol. The enhancements will come with Windows CE .NET, slated for release during the first half of 2003.
Read the full story on: InternetNews.com
Sony to Release 802.11a LCD TVs
Sony will release two models its WEGA series liquid crystal TVs that support 802.11a. The maximum data transmission speed is 24Mbps. The company calls this wireless technology “Hi-Bit Wireless,” and plans to expand to other equipment in the future. Sales of the “KLV-17WS1,” a 17-in. model with a resolution of 1,280 x 768 pixels, and the “KLV-15WS1,” a 15-in. model with a resolution of 1,024 x 768 will begin on June 1 in Japan.
Read the full story on: Nikkei Electronis Asia
Mobile Messaging Spam Gets on the Radar
In a new service launched Oct 2002, NTT DoCoMo is offering to send each of its 35 million users a hard copy of all incoming e-mail. The printouts contain SMTP headers, which are necessary to track down and sue spammers, but absent in messages sent to cell phones. Though estimates vary, spam seems to be the only type of Internet traffic that still doubles every few months. On a cellular network, spam can waste more than just time and money. Short Messaging Service (SMS) uses spare capacity on a 0.5Kbps signalling channel, which also has to carry critical network management data. This leaves little room for user traffic, so even a few junk e-mails can turn into an effective Denial of Service (DoS) attack.
Read the full story on: Network Computing Asia
Broadcom Wins HP Support for 54g WLAN Brand
HP on Monday said it would integrate Broadcoms 802.11g WLAN chipset into Compaq Presario 2100 and 2500 notebooks. HP joins the likes of Linksys, Belkin and Buffalo, the US and European subsidiary of Japanese wireless vendor Melco, in branding Broadcom-based product as 54g. The 802.11g specification has yet to be ratified as an official IEEE standard, but Broadcom believes there will be few changes to the specification before it is signed off as a standard, said Jeff Abramowitz, senior marketing director for wireless products at Broadcom.
Read the full story on: The Register
Nokia Presses CDMA Handset Manufacturing in China
Nokia said it will merge four existing joint ventures in China, while spurring production of handsets based on the CDMA standard. The company had sales of more than $3 billion in China in 2002, and its latest push are also designed to challenge both Motorola and Qualcomm in the lucrative Chinese mobile handset manufacturing market. Nokia said the CDMA handsets it makes in China will be based on its own chipsets, rather than licensing competitive chipsets from Qualcomm.