Intel releases wireless home networking products
By Bloomberg News
April 5, 2000, 2:40 p.m. PT
Chip giant Intel unveiled products that let home users link their personal computers and share Internet access, files and printers using wireless connections.
The AnyPoint Wireless Home Network system comes in two parts. The main device, which costs $119, connects to a desktop or laptop PC with Internet access. That device can swap data via radio waves with other desktop PCs that have the unit, or with laptop PCs using a separate $129 AnyPoint card. The system will be available within a month, the company said.
Intel is betting that networking and communications products such as AnyPoint will help drive revenue as growth in its traditional microprocessor business slows. Sales of home wireless-networking products in the U.S. could rise to $350 million in 2003 from $12.5 million last year, according to market researcher Yankee Group.
The market has been slow to take off, however, due in part to the relative scarcity of broadband Internet connections for home users. "Last-mile bandwidth constrains relegate home networks to a niche market for the foreseeable future," a report from research firm Jupiter Communications says.
IBM will offer the AnyPoint wireless products with its new NetVista PC next month, Intel said.
AnyPoint is similar to Apple Computer and Lucent Technologies' AirPort wireless-networking system. AnyPoint is based on a different technology standard.
Intel also introduced a product that lets users connect their home PCs and share Internet access through their home phone lines at high speeds. Though other products with the same function are available, the company said its is the first that doesn't require the user to open up the PC to install.
yahoo.cnet.com |
