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Compaq Slides Wireless Networking Into Armadas

At a Comdex event, Compaq demonstrates wireless networking options in future Armada notebooks.

Stephen Lawson, IDG News Service

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LAS VEGAS -- Compaq plans to push further into the frontiers of wireless networking with an innovative expansion module for upcoming Armada notebooks.

Compaq demonstrated here at Comdex embedded Universal Serial Bus modules for standards-based wireless local area network and wireless Bluetooth connectivity. The modules fit into the MultiPort slot of upcoming versions of Compaq Armada notebooks. The wireless LAN module is expected to price between $200 and $300, while the Bluetooth will cost less than $200, Compaq officials say.

In order to support both 802.11b wireless LAN and Bluetooth in the same notebooks, Compaq will have to tackle the interoperability problem of the two standards.

A Testing Holdup

Modules for the MultiPort fit nearly flush on the back of the notebook's display panel and plug into a hidden USB slot. That leaves both of the notebook's PC Card slots free for other peripherals. When no module is being used, a dummy can be inserted.

Compaq demonstrated a pair of Armadas equipped with Bluetooth wireless radios, designed for 1-megabit-per-second communication between devices in close proximity. Bluetooth is a standard for linking PCs to handheld devices, other PCs, and peripherals for file transfer and communication. (See "Bluetooth Debuts in Bits and Pieces.")

One factor holding up Bluetooth products has been certification testing, which is still under way for elements of Compaq's module, says Charles Dittmer, director of communication technologies in Compaq's Portable PC Division. The module is based on an Ericsson radio component.

Nevertheless, Dittmer expects the module to be approved in the first quarter of 2001.

As soon as the Armadas are shipped in the first quarter of 2001, users will be able to buy an Armada configured with the 802.11B wireless LAN module, which will use Intel's radio and antenna. The 802.11b standard provides for 11-mbps LANs in homes, small businesses, and enterprises.

Wireless Specification Woes

Compaq and other equipment makers face an incompatibility challenge that is becoming more urgent as Bluetooth begins to join 802.11b products on the market. Because both use the same frequency spectrum, 2.4 GHz, they cannot be used in the same device at the same time. Even with two devices in close proximity--less than about 3 feet in Compaq's tests, according to Dittmer--the two networks interfere with each other. This means in many cases a user would have to log off of an office wireless LAN before he or she could synchronize a personal digital assistant with the PC.

Compaq first planned to introduce a dual-function MultiPort module, but users will have to switch from one specification to the other through software, Dittmer says.

A later module using components now under development will be able to automatically switch back and forth between the functions, allowing for operation that seems simultaneous to the user.

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