Wed May 06, 2009 11:54 pm
Computer, handset and home entertainment titans plan to promote an even faster wireless technology to transfer large files, such as high-definition video, to consumer electronics like laptops, mobile phones and home television sets.
WiGig is roughly 10 to 20 times faster than Wi-Fi and capable of transfers at 6 gigabits per second -- fast enough to send the contents of a DVD in 15 seconds.
"The hours of time you spend downloading will go down to seconds," said Ari Sadri, WiGig Alliance president. "You could download movies while you put gas in your car."
WiGig uses the 60-gigahertz frequency band, an unused space in the airwaves that allows for extremely high transfer speeds at short ranges.
Its range is shorter than Wi-Fi, about the distance of a room and its adjacent areas, but would eliminate many of the cables currently used to connect home consumer electronics.
Several technologies, including UWB (Ultrawideband), WirelessHD and WHDI (Wireless Home Digital Interface), have already flooded the job of in-home wireless video transmission but none have taken hold.
A WiGig standard should be finalized by the end of this year, with testing to begin shortly thereafter to ensure it works properly in computers, mobile phones, televisions and other gadgets.
Manufacturers, such as Intel, LG, Microsoft, Nokia, Dell, Samsung and others, are not expected to start making devices with WiGig until successful testing is completed.
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