| |
|
 |
|
|
Newsletter
January 2005 - page 5
Ultra
Wideband
I
found the following item on ZD Net. Use your imagination to see
what the near future holds for us gizmo fiends. (VHS/BETAMAX etc.)
Consumer
electronics using ultra wideband, a powerful wireless technique
rivaling Bluetooth and infrared, will debut at this week's Consumer
Electronics Show in Las Vegas despite the ongoing stalemate over
approving a standard. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
The
prototypes of cell phones, high-definition televisions, laptops
and wireless access points using UWB, as it's more commonly known,
should be available commercially by year's end, the manufacturers
say.
Freescale, formerly Motorola's semiconductor product unit, and
chipmaker Intel are backing competing blueprints for UWB that
manufacturers will use to ensure compatible products. But neither
side's proposals have gathered enough support from Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers members to be designated
the standard. The IEEE subcommittee developing the UWB standard
is expected to meet by month's end to try it again, but no one
is expecting a breakthrough.
Unlike wireless technologies such as Bluetooth, 802.11b and 802.11a,
which work in relatively narrow bandwidths, ultra wideband operates
over a wide range of frequency bands by sending very narrow and
low-power pulses. Because it uses a broader spectrum, lower power
and pulsed data, it is capable of delivering wire-level performance,
making it suitable for electronics gizmos that require higher
data transfer speeds. For instance, media players that can hold
multiple MPEG-4 movies will require 1gbps ultra wideband capability
to transfer an entire movie in a few seconds.
But the release of products before a standard is clearly defined
threatens to litter stores with incompatible products and stall
the industry's development. However, history is strewn with products
that debut sometimes years ahead of the standards actual approval,
according to Diane Orr, a spokeswoman for Freescale, whose UWB
silicon is at the heart of the products being unveiled at the
show, which starts on Thursday.
An Intel spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
"We think there's no danger," Orr said. "Even if
there was a standard today, that wouldn't necessarily change what
the market is doing."
By Ben Charny CNET News.com January 5, 2005, 10:49 AM PT
|
|
|
