Dell Latitude 6430u − the First WiGig Ultrabook with 10x Wi-Fi Speed

WiGig (Wireless Gigabit Alliance) has been developing better wireless networking technologies. Dell is finally showing just what all those R&D efforts and funds have led to.

The Latitude 6430u is a new ultrabook that Dell created, and which we actually spotted back in September, quite some time before even the release of Windows 8.

At the time, we did not know much about it, except that is could last “all day” on a single battery charge.

We know better now, though. It turns out that Wilocity, one of the main developers of 60 GHz multi-gigabit wireless chipsets, had a stake in the development of the product.

Thanks to the Tri-band wireless chipsets it makes jointly with Qualcomm Atheros Inc., Wilocity turned Dell's Latitude 6430u into the first device with WiGig IEEE 802.11ad wireless support, which permit data transfer rates over 10 times faster than current Wi-Fi technologies.

Thus, the Latitude 6430u can connect to docks, displays and storage units at speeds of several Gigabits per second, even as it continues to pick up standard Wi-Fi transmissions.

As if that was not enough, the integrated WiGig Wireless Bus Extension can combine with a Dell WiGig-enabled docking station, enabling even faster wireless storage, peripherals, expansion slots and external graphics processing, of all things.

Though expensive, Ultrabooks are nice and slim, but that prevents them from including powerful graphics. WiGig Wi-Fi could be what external graphics adapters need to take off.

"The Latitude 6430u is Dell's first commercial Ultrabook enabling our customers to have a true ultra-thin and light computer which will still address the in-office security and manageability requirements of serious business users," said Kirk Schell, vice president of Computing Products at Dell.

WiGig chips probably won't gain market traction just from this. Dell only chose to implement the technology because it is one of the founders of the WiGig Alliance.