Modesty is virtue. We are all waiting for the IEEE to ratify 802.11n, but as we wait, life goes on--even if with a bit of confusion. Some companies are courageously moving forward with production of pre-N gear, hoping to gain market share while assuming the risk of their prestandard gear not being compatible with the standard which will eventually emerge. Other companies are investing their efforts trying to get as much out of existing standards before the certified 802.11n flood gates open.
Broadcom, a company which was ahead of the others when it came to 802.11g, has been playing it more conservatively when it comes to 802.11n. Accordingly, it has just announced that it has miniaturized its 802.11g chipsets for use in small--very small--networking devices. The company aims not only at handsets, but at smaller components still. The company says its new 54g chipset will occupy only 50 square millimeters and will consume only 270mW of power in active mode, which is impressive (for comparison: Intel's 11g chipsets consume about 100mW in idle state).
For more on Broadcom's small offering:
- see Scott Fulton's BetaNews report