WLAN Mobile Phones Are Out Sooner Than Expected

STMicroelectronics has just started the mass production of its STLC4370 Mobile Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) chip, which is geared towards mobile phone use. Its STLC4XXX line of chips will expand with an IEEE 802.11b/g and an IEEE 802.11a/b/g in the first quarter of this year. The cost of the chip has been cut to speed up the use and support of WLAN connectivity in mobile phones. The STLC4370 has a consolidated single-chip WLAN. In addition, it has an RF/VCO, ZIF transceiver, and an OFDM/CCK digital baseband processor, among the many other features and capabilities that it has. 

WLAN mobile phones can access business email services and advanced voice features, including Internet Protocol PBX. The STLC4370'x support for IEEE802.11e Quality of Service guarantees dependable performance. It also uses consolidated security capabilities that utilize IEEE802.11i and Wi-Fi protected access functions to safeguard data. 

Secure Digital Input/Output (SDIO) or Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) supporting clock speeds of up to 40Mbps furnish host controls. The WLAN driver uses the Symbian OS and Series 60 UI, enabling it to have energy-saving features which prolong standby and talk times. Though it is especially designed for cellular phones, the STLC4370 can also be used for other handheld devices such as PDAs and digital cameras. For non-cellular units, the STLC4370 provides a wide range of Linux drivers which provide a fast development of tablet or multimedia formats. Price is set at $10 each for a purchase of 100,000 units.