SyChip intros next gen secure digital WLAN product

EDP Weekly's IT Monitor, Jan 12, 2004

SyChip, Inc., the leader in Radio Frequency Integration Circuits (RFIC) and Chip Scale Modules (CSM) for the wireless Internet appliance market, has announced the availability of the next-generation Low Power Secure Digital Wireless local area network (WLAN) product for the fast-growing 802.11b WLAN market. This builds on the successful industry-first SDIO WLAN, the WLAN6060SD, from SyChip.

The SyChip WLAN6065SD SDIO card will enable the next generation of smaller, more power-sensitive Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), Smartphones and camera phones, to quickly integrate high-speed wireless Internet capabilities with added security features into their products. This will be especially important as more feature-rich phones are introduced to the market and low-power wireless functionality becomes the key to customer traction. SyChip announced that it is in the advanced testing phase with leading PDA and smartphone OEMs and ODMs for the SyChip WLAN6065 WLAN SDIO card.

"The migration of WLAN to mobile devices has created the ideal scenario for the SyChip WLAN6065SD card, which enables our customers to add WLAN functionality into their products without sacrificing performance all in a device which extends battery life beyond current levels for enhanced user experience," said George Barber, president and CEO of SyChip. "Now, customers can use the SyChip WLAN NIC across multiple product formats as the defacto accessory card for WLAN functionality."

The SyChip 6065SD is the next generation design to the industry's first SD form factor network interface card, the SyChip WLAN6060SD. It can be used in SPI, 1-bit and 4-bit SD transfer modes for speeds of up to 100 megabits (Mb/s) per second. Improved utilities and drivers now enable a true plug-and-play user experience: the ability to roam seamlessly among multiple 802.11b wireless network access points without losing a connection; the ability to operate in peer-to-peer mode (without an access point) to download data from wireless-equipped handhelds without a cradle or network connection, and the ability to share data directly with other wireless PDAs. This will be very important for the next generation gaming devices for which the WLAN6065SD is ideally suited.

The utility also adds the capability to allow the user to optimize between performance and battery life. In addition, the flexible driver design supports both Microsoft WinCE Windows Zero Configuration capabilities for PPC2003 and the SyChip configuration utility. This is especially important where enterprise customers require full control of the configuration and WLAN setup.

"The market for WLAN components continues to grow, and the ability to offer products that target power sensitive portable devices with minimal impact is critical for increased levels of user adoption," said Joe Byrne, analyst with Gartner Group. "The SyChip 6065SD solution is a step forward for the industry in terms of offering secure digital products for a multitude of product platforms without sacrificing the performance and/or battery capacity that users have become accustomed to with their current wireless solutions."

The SyChip WLAN6065 WLAN card has been tested for interoperability with several convergent host products from leading PDA manufacturers such as Samsung, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard and is targeted for major wireless service providers. Through SyChip's channel partner, SanDisk, and OEM partner, Socket Communications, the card is sold through major electronic retailers such as CompUSA and Best Buy and through OEMs websites such as Dell and Hewlett Packard.

A complete driver suite will be offered for this card--Window drivers, including Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows CE (supporting CE 3.0 and higher for Pocket PC and CE.net platforms). The card will be interoperable with the Palm OS (OS5.2 and higher) The card will be fully Wi-Fi certified and has been tested to meet worldwide certification requirements.