14 DAY TRIAL // Wireless networking technologies are very popular nowadays as the number of companies that are offering high speed Internet access over radio waves is growing steadily and more and more users, especially mobile computer ones are becoming attracted to the mobility bonus offered by those solutions.
As a direct result of this situation, a number of hardware manufacturing companies are now developing faster and more reliable wireless networking solutions that are better suited for use on mobile computer systems like laptops and notebooks. Among these companies, Intel is one of the most important wireless solution providers thanks to its mobile computing platforms like Centrino, Santa Rosa and the upcoming Montevina.
Intel also said sometime ago that it would deliver, starting with 2008, wireless networking chipsets that should offer support for both Wi-Fi and WiMax technologies. These new wireless technologies should be supported by chips designed to work with the upcoming mobile 25W Penryn central processing units. Apart from these features, the upcoming Montevina should also offer integrated support for HD DVD and Blu-ray high definition video formats, according to the news site informationweek.
World Interoperability for Microwave Access, WiMax for short, is a high speed broadband wireless standard that according to its official specifications should be able to extend the reach of Wi-Fi networks across greater distances, as it is theoretically capable of data transmitting speeds of up to 70Mb per second at a maximum distance of 37 miles.
"We are on the cusp of a new global network," Paul Otellini, chief executive officer of Intel, said during the company's annual developer conference in San Francisco. He estimated nearly 150 million people would be covered by WiMax next year. The Intel CEO also said that the most important laptop makers Lenovo, Acer, Asus, Panasonic, and Toshiba have all agreed to carry the combination Wi-Fi and WiMax chipsets when the technology debuts.
A number of vitally important partnerships were already established in an attempt to put the bases of a global level alliance that should work in a concerted manner in order to extend the reach of the WiMax wireless networks.