Feb 10, 2011 16:08 GMT  ·  By

Marvell has long been a supplier of various integrated circuits, and it seems that its latest one may actually cause quite a few ripples on the mobile device market, being an SoC with dual WiFi connectivity.

In terms of wireless connectivity, there is a certain technology known as MIMO, short for multiple-input and multiple-output adapters.

These adapters basically work thanks to multiple antennas that can handle many parallel wireless connections.

Apparently, Marvell decided to adapt this idea in such a way as to allow it to become the first company to integrate the functionality in portable electronics.

To be more specific, Marvell created a certain device that it calls Avastar 88W8797, equipped with dual 802.11n connectivity, for transmission and receiving.

"As the promise of seamless connectivity fast becomes a reality, Wi-Fi provides a common link across many different mobile devices," said Weili Dai, Marvell's Co-Founder.

"The Avastar 88W8797 represents a breakthrough for our industry: for the very first time the powerful performance of MIMO technology is now available and practical for mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones,” he added.

“By integrating multiple cutting-edge technologies and several low-power radios into a single system-on-a- chip, the Avastar solution ushers in an exciting new era in mobile computing and communications."

Avastar 88W8797 has an expansive network range, compared to existing 11n 2x2 products, thanks to the Tx beamforming technology.

Also, for those that want more numbers, the product can enable WiFi data rates of up to 300 Mbps, twice as that of existing mobile electronics.

Home media servers, notebooks, digital TVs and set-top-boxes may also end up using this new invention.

“Avastar 88W8797 is the industry's first high-performance multiple input multiple output (MIMO) combination radio with advanced power management designed specifically for handheld products such as smartphones and tablets,” the company says.