Texas Instruments has announced a new wireless LAN (WLAN) chip which requires up to ten times less power than existing solutions.
TNETW1100B is an integrated 802.11b (Wi-Fi) Medium Access Controller (MAC) and baseband processor (BBP). It uses just 2 milli-watts of power in standby mode, prolonging battery life and making it suitable for use in smaller form factor mobile devices and even embedded applications. TI claims that most Wi-Fi chips spend about 95% of the time in standby mode and that its chip can improve battery life by up to 25% in a PDA, while a laptop will use 75% less power than most existing systems. Most PDA manufacturers, with the exception of some industrial vendors, have refused to integrate current 802.11b chips into their devices because of the negative impact on battery life.
“With the new TNETW1100B, Texas Instruments is the first to enable a vast new class of truly portable and battery-friendly Wi-Fi devices. IEEE 802.11b was not originally developed for highly mobile products as its primary application, so power consumption and size have remained significant obstacles for mobile device manufacturers wanting to offer WLAN connectivity,” said Marc Cetto, general manager of TI’s Wireless Networking Business Unit. “The benefits of WLAN connectivity increase greatly when you don’t have to be plugged-in or carry extra batteries. With TI’s ELP technology drastically reducing overall power consumption, the TNETW1100B is taking WLAN from the proof-of-concept stage to a valuable and realistic feature for many more mobile and embedded products.”