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Analysts Predict Take-Up Problems with Dual-Band Wi-Fi Cell Phones
Companies will be able to take advantage of handsets that can access both voice over IP on wireless LANs and mobile phone networks by early next year, network provider Avaya said last week. The development of dual-band technology will allow businesses to cut costs by allowing calls usually made via mobiles from a building to be routed through the IP network, simplifying the management of employees calls. However, Gartner analyst Ian Keene identified problems with standards, power and cost as standing in the way of the technology. “There is no voice over IP wireless LAN standard as yet. Also, although some firms will go for the technology, I am not sure they realize the potential cost of being locked into a non-standard product with one supplier.”
Read the full story on: Computer Weekly
Bluetooth Chipset Market Projected For Growth
Demand for Bluetooth chipsets more than doubled in 2002, market research firm In-Stat/MDR said Tuesday. The number of shipments rose by 245 percent over 2001 to 35.8 million units. The growth rate, however, was expected to slow considerably as the market matures, settling in to a 74 percent Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) through 2007. Mobile handsets will remain a major driving force for Bluetooth, the research firm said.
Read the full story on: Techweb
Cavium Announces WLAN Security Chips
Cavium Networks this week formally announced its new family of wireless security coprocessors. The NITROX wireless products are designed specifically to support 802.11 security standards, now and the future. Mike Scruggs, product manager at Cavium Networks said the various flavors of NITROX chips offload the heavy lifting for advanced security — everything from RC4 for TKIP to cipher block chaining to generate a MAC for authentication with AES — in current and future WLANs. “The IEEE is evolving and eventually will conclude the 802.11i specification,” said Scruggs, referring to the spec under development that will replace Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and the incremental Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), and will mandate use of Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). AES requires separate processing power to work.
Read the full story on: Enterprise IT Planet
Linksys Adapters Make a Play for Gamers
Linksys, the newly acquired division of Cisco Systems, on Wednesday announced two new adapters that are designed to connect game consoles, including Sonys PlayStation 2, Microsofts Xbox and Nintendos GameCube, to each other and to the Internet for online multiplayer gaming. The 802.11b-based adapter, called the Wireless-B Game Adapter, costs $79, while the 802.11g-based Wireless-G Game Adapter costs $129. “Were seeing the wireless network evolve from just something to share the Internet connection to sharing content and entertainment as well as data,” said Mike Wagner, director of marketing at Linksys. “As networks become more common, people are looking for what else they can plug into it.”
Read the full story on: CNET News.com
Need a Cab? Its As Easy As SMS
Taxi Point service allows mobile phone users to call cabs to a precise location. Anyone struggling to find a black cab in London will soon be able to locate and book one with a single text message. People will use a Taxi Point — a sign with a four-digit code to identify an exact location within central London — and text the location code to the London Taxi Point short code (83220). Using GPS tracking, the Taxi Point service will identify and book the nearest black cab from the participating taxi fleet, deliver a confirmation text and an alert when the taxi has arrived.
Read the full story on: vnunet.com