TMCnet News
Firms aren't connecting on ultra-wideband: TI, Freescale develop competing standards for wireless USB(Dallas Morning News, The (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) May 27--Texas' two biggest chipmakers are on opposite sides of a technology debate, and computer users should pay attention. Texas Instruments Inc. of Dallas and Freescale Semiconductor Inc. of Austin are working on competing versions of the wireless technology called ultra-wideband. UWB can transfer data at a rate similar to that of USB cables, the ubiquitous cords that connect mice, keyboards, digital cameras, external hard drives and myriad other devices to computers. UWB may eventually be the key technology that connects the computer to other electronics in the home, including TVs and cellphones. Chipmakers are very concerned about making sure their introduction of the technology goes smoothly. That's where the problem lies. Freescale, a former unit of Motorola Inc., is pushing a flavor of UWB that's incompatible with one backed by TI, Intel Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. and other tech giants. If all goes according to plan, products with Freescale chips will hit stores before rivals can get their version out to consumers. Industry observers worry that the competing technologies will confuse computer users and slow down UWB's adoption. The stakes are high for the chipmakers, since they're aiming at a market that could be very lucrative. The plan is for most computer-related devices to someday contain UWB technology. "Both camps want the technology a certain way and want to make their own silicon," said Brian O'Rourke, an analyst at research firm In-Stat. "We'll see who wins or if the market can support both." The UWB debate has been going on behind the scenes in the industry for a few years. The last hope for an amicable resolution dissolved in January, when a task group attempting to reconcile the two technologies was shut down. "It was about 2 ½ years of a whole lot of money being spent," said Calvin Harrison, manager of marketing and business development for Freescale's UWB offering. "Now it's going to be, 'Let's get a product out there that works.' " The differences between the two technologies are complex. They involve everything from the method used to transfer the data to the approach to the market. First to market Freescale's strategy is to get in front of shoppers now. In July, Belkin Corp. plans to introduce a Freescale-based product called the CableFree USB Hub. The $130 device will work like this: A computer user plugs a dongle into a computer's USB port. The user plugs other devices, such as an external hard drive or a printer, into the hub with a USB cable. The dongle and the hub communicate with each other wirelessly, allowing the computer to roam free. That means a user could use a laptop computer anywhere in the room and still have a connection to four devices. "The wireless hub receives the information and sends it to all the peripherals on the desk," said Benjamin Bamdad, Belkin's product management director for computing and connection platforms. "It just basically does the job." Gefen Inc. will introduce a similar product, the company announced in January. The company has made progress on the development of its Wireless USB 2.0 Extender, getting the equivalent of a full-speed USB connection at nearly 100 feet, but it doesn't have a definitive release date, Gefen spokeswoman Linda Morgan said. The Freescale-based products won't work with each other, and they won't work with devices that use UWB chips made by TI, Intel and others. "It has to be a very specific model for them to work," said Yoram Solomon, head of TI's consumer networking unit. "They're saying, 'It's going to be a USB port on one end and a USB port on other end, but you have to get both ends from me.' " The UWB flavor supported by TI, on the other hand, will be much more interoperable. Products that carry a logo that says "Wireless USB" will allow devices to communicate with each other just as they do with USB cables today. Bluetooth technology The TI-supported version of UWB will also eventually become the underlying radio technology behind the next generation of Bluetooth, the technology cellphone makers use to connect phones to wireless headsets and other devices. Eventually, the UWB chips favored by TI and Intel could be built into computers and other devices, making them automatically ready to link to each other. But that will require time and software adjustments. Freescale's offering, meanwhile, gives consumers the advantage of wirelessly connecting devices without making them wait for the industry to work out the kinks, Mr. Harrison said. Freescale's rivals probably won't have products based on their chips in the market until the fourth quarter of this year at the earliest, Mr. O'Rourke said. That gives Freescale a long head start if its partners' products debut as scheduled. In the long run But with TI, Intel, Samsung and other heavyweights coordinating together, does Freescale have a chance in the long run? Sort of, said Stuart Carlaw, an analyst at ABI Research. Some computer users will like the simplicity of buying products that, like the Belkin device, are designed to work right out of the box. Even when Freescale's rivals enter the fray, there will be plenty of older computers without UWB chips inside them, so Freescale could still have an audience years from now. It would be unwise, at this point, for Freescale to squander the investment it has made in its version of UWB, Mr. Carlaw said. It must give its technology a chance, regardless of whether it wins in the long run. Meanwhile, Freescale could buy one of the smaller chip companies working on the other flavor of UWB to hedge its bets, he said. In the meantime, consumers will have to be aware that products that claim to connect USB devices without cables will not necessarily work with each other. "One of the biggest bugbears I have in the market is the fact that there is this confusion," Mr. Carlaw said. "It's going to lead to a certain degree of inertia in the market." E-mail [email protected] |