Wisair Announces Ultra Wideband Host Dongle Reference Design
Campbell, California, August 23, 2005 – Ultra Wideband (UWB) and Wireless USB solutions provider Wisair today announced a UWB host dongle reference design enabling peer-to-peer UWB data connectivity between PCs and/or notebooks. Featuring a low-BOM cost, the Wisair new reference design helps consumer electronics and peripheral manufacturers produce UWB dongles to enable wireless data sharing and streaming of high-bandwidth data, such as audio, video, pictures and data files, between two host machines.
The first UWB reference design in small product form factor employing WiMedia™ specifications, the Wisair UWB dongle reference design features a 23×69 mm size (including on-board PCB-based UWB antenna), provides 480 Mbps data throughput, and plugs into any USB 2.0 host port.
“Wisair small form factor dongle is the first step toward the productization of WiMedia-compliant UWB technology and a major milestone for our industry,” said Stephen Wood, president of the WiMedia Alliance. “Availability of this Wisair product as a reference design will enable OEMs with a quick time to market advantage, supported by the WiMedia eco-system,” Mr. Wood continued.
“We are excited about delivering the first consumer-targeted UWB reference design and have already received a great interest from several manufacturers,” said David Yaish, Wisair President and CEO. “Beyond the indication of our leadership, it represents an important milestone for the Ultra Wideband and wireless USB markets as they advances towards the commercial launches of consumer products.”
Ideal for manufacturers, the Wisair UWB reference design is based on the Wisair UWB chipset and provides the technology and software necessary to rapidly introduce UWB dongles to the market. The design is USB 2.0 host compliant, and includes end-user software for management, control and an association. Additionally, the UWB dongle offers a robust performance in noisy environments and co-existence with other 802.11 devices.
The antenna on the UWB dongle was developed in collaboration with In4Tel, a strategic partner of Wisair and a developer of smart mobile and cellular antennas with proven superior performance and quality. The customized antenna solutions, provided by the companies address the specific performance and mechanical requirements of consumer products, while optimizing radio performance, size and cost.
The Wisair UWB host dongle was initially showcased at the Wireless Japan exhibition in Tokyo in July, and will be demonstrated at the Fall Intel Developer Forum held August 23-25 in San Francisco.
About Wisair
Wisair is a leading provider of Ultra Wide Band (UWB) and Wireless USB chipset solutions for consumer electronics, mobile devices, and PC peripherals. Combining its wireless communication and radio frequency expertise, Wisair is a promoter member of the WiMedia Alliance and an active participant in the IEEE standardization process and the Wireless USB Promoters Group.
A well-funded company, Wisair investors includes Intel Capital, NTT, NIF Ventures, Apax, Vertex, RAD Group and Tamar Ventures. Wisair is headquartered in Israel, with offices in the US, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. For more information, visit the company web site at www.wisair.com.
About In4Tel
In4Tel is a provider of advanced internal and external antennas employing innovative technology for mobile communication devices. The In4Tel Antennas present high gain and efficiency, full in-band, multi-band and multi-mode coverage, small form factor, and low production cost. In4Tel antenna technology is backed by various patents worldwide. In4Tel is a private company, located in Israel.