Alereon Announces First Wireless USB Chipset Solution
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Las Vegas – January 8, 2007 – Alereon, Inc., the ultrawideband (UWB) technology leader for mobile WiMedia and solutions based on Certified Wireless USB, today announced the production availability of its AL4300 Wireless USB device solution. An industry first, the AL4300 is a highly integrated solution that provides all of the host interface, Media Access Controller (MAC) and Baseband Processor (BBP) functions required to implement a Wireless USB device. Combined with Alereon’s AL4100 RF Transceiver, the chipset solution implements a device subsystem based on the Certified Wireless USB specification from the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF).
“It is exciting to be the first company to announce a complete Wireless USB chipset solution optimized for embedded applications,” said Eric Broockman, founder and CEO of Alereon. “Our AL4300 chipset strengthens our technology offering and clearly demonstrates Alereon’s commitment to accelerating the development of UWB technology. Our expanded technology offering is well positioned to address the needs of cost sensitive consumer devices.”
Ideal for mobile, handheld and PC peripheral applications, Alereon’s AL4300 is designed to excel in applications where space and power consumption are a premium. Compact Flash+, parallel local bus and SDIO host interfaces enable a glueless connection to almost any popular host processor. The AL4300 is also designed to operate at full speed over-the-air while requiring minimal host processor memory or resources, allowing for easy integration into embedded systems. The AL4300 in conjunction with Alereon’s AL4100 RF transceiver implements all WiMedia data rates from 53Mbps to 480Mbps and supports data transfers of 200Mbps over the SDIO interface. In addition, Alereon has successfully demonstrated interoperability with both the Intel® Wireless UWB Link 1480 Media Access Controller (MAC) and the NEC µPD720170 Certified Wireless USB Host Controller.
In addition to standard Wireless USB host-to-device connections, Alereon’s AL4300 Wireless-on-the-Go™ capability allows it to establish a one-to-one connection with any Wireless USB compliant device. This unique feature enables file sharing between devices without the requirement to be connected to a Wireless USB host.
To support customers developing new Wireless USB designs, Alereon provides the AL4500 Software Development Kit (SDK) as well as drivers for both Linux and Microsoft Windows XP. Support for Microsoft Windows CE and Mobile 5 and 6 is available from Alereon’s software partners.
“We are pleased to see companies like Alereon at the forefront of successful development and introduction of Wireless USB solutions,” said Jeff Ravencraft, president and chairman of the USB Implementers Forum. “Announcements like this create gains for companies focused on delivering innovative, wireless consumer products allowing the market to move forward quickly.”
Alereon’s AL4300 is available today for $13.31 in 10,000 unit quantities.
Source for this article: http://www.alereon.com/press-room