Intel unveils Bluetooth line-up
By Mark LaPedus
Electronic Buyers' News
(12/07/99, 06:23:08 PM EDT)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Intel Corp. today unveiled its first line-up of products for
the Bluetooth market, which will enable computer manufacturers to add wireless
communications capabilities into their portable systems.
Intel's new RF-based modules and software drivers will allow notebooks to
exchange data with cellular phones and other handheld equipment over a wireless
network, according to Frank Spindler, vice president and marketing director of
Intel's Mobile and Handheld Products Group, speaking at the Bluetooth
Developers Conference in Los Angeles..
"We will provide our customers with hardware, software, design tools and support
to allow them to deliver [Bluetooth-enabled capabilities] in notebook designs,"
Spindler said.
Originally developed last year by Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Nokia, and Toshiba,
Bluetooth is a short-range protocol designed to transport data across notebooks,
cellular phones, and other products over a 1-Mbit/second wireless network.
Several companies have already introduced Bluetooth-enabled products, including
chips and hardware. The latest is Intel, which will position itself as a one-stop
shop of Bluetooth-enabled products.
Intel will sell a board-level solution built around RF-based components from
third-party chip makers, the company said. The company will also sell its own,
internally-developed software drivers to OEMs.
The company's products, which will sell for about $30, will be shipped in
mid-2000. |
