|
| [May 04, 2004] |
 |
Alereon Demonstrates Ultra Wideband High-Speed Wireless USB Connectivity at CONNECTIONS Digital Home Conference
AUSTIN, Texas --(Business Wire)-- May 4, 2004 -- Alereon First to Complete Own End-to-End High-Speed Wireless USB Platform
Alereon, a leading Ultra Wideband (UWB) semiconductor company producing chipsets for the personal area networking (PAN) market, today announced it will demonstrate the first entirely in-house designed high-speed wireless USB platform at the 8th annual CONNECTIONS(tm) Digital Home Conference, in Dallas. With all Alereon developed MAC, PHY and Antenna technologies, the company is the first to show a complete end-to-end solution.
Alereon has turned its conference booth, number 303, into the next generation family room. CONNECTIONS(tm) attendees will have the opportunity to view full-motion video transmitted from a camcorder to a digital television, utilizing the Alereon UWB platform.
"Offering a comprehensive solution, as opposed to trying to piece together products from multiple vendors, allows us to optimize performance as we tailor solutions for the specific needs of the PC, consumer electronics and mobile markets," said Eric Broockman, chief executive officer of Alereon. "We see tremendous market potential for wireless USB products. Having full control of the MAC, baseband, AFE and antenna provides the agility necessary to more quickly meet the needs of our customers."
"Shipments of ultra wideband chipsets will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 260 percent between 2005 and 2008 following the introduction of commercial products in approximately 18 months," said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst for Parks Associates. "The companies poised to successfully capture significant share of this anticipated $1.2 billion market will be those that combine both PHY and MAC expertise to provide the computing, consumer electronics, and mobile communications industries with a low-power, robust, and low-cost solution. Alereon is one company poised to do just that."
As a key contributor to the Wireless USB Promoter Group formed by Intel, Agere Systems, HP, Microsoft Corporation, NEC, Philips Semiconductors and Samsung Electronics, Alereon will bring its UWB and MAC expertise to help drive the completion of the specification expected later this year. Alereon, Philips and Sony recently completed the initial draft of the MBOA MAC specification which will provide the foundation for wireless USB.
"By capitalizing on the substantial industry-wide investment we've made with wired USB, we are enabling the rapid adoption of wireless USB in existing and new applications," said Jeff Ravencraft, Intel technology strategist and USB-IF chairman. "Wireless USB will extend the ease-of-use of existing USB products by cutting the cord while maintaining the familiar look and feel users expect. We look forward to working with Alereon to bring the benefits of USB and Ultra-Wideband to market."
Alereon plans to make its wireless USB developer's platform available later this year. This should significantly decrease wireless USB development time by providing the controller-specific software stacks and drivers, so that developers can quickly and easily develop their embedded applications with minimal risk.
Alereon is a founding member of the multi-band OFDM alliance (MBOA), which comprises more than 100 companies, including seven of the world's 10 largest semiconductor vendors, support from all of the world's leading consumer electronics companies, five of the six USB Implementer Forum director companies and seven of the IEEE 1394-TA director companies. The MBOA represents a coordinated effort among the world's leading semiconductor companies and original equipment manufacturers to offer high speed connectivity among consumer electronics, personal computers, computer peripherals and mobile devices.
Alereon is a founding member of WiMedia, a not-for-profit open industry association formed to promote wireless connectivity and interoperability among multimedia devices in a personal area network.
About Alereon Inc.
Alereon Inc., a UWB fabless semiconductor company, is developing and deploying complete UWB solutions for personal area networking applications that comply with the emerging MBOA and wireless USB standards. The company is targeting high-bandwidth, low-power, low-cost solutions to connect wirelessly consumer electronics, computer peripherals, and mobile devices. Further information is available on the company's Web site: www.alereon.com.
[ Back To MobilityTechzone Homepage's Homepage ]
|
COMMUNITIES