Wireless-N Poised to Hit Big (If It Ever Really Gets Here)
The new wares of course are based on the draft 2.0 version of the high-speed wireless standard, which seems to be perpetually delayed and, as of last check, is expected to be ratified by the IEEE late in 2008.
The Wi-Fi Alliance said Monday that it has certified 140 draft-n products since it jumped in and began offering its "seal of approval" for pre-standard gear this summer, up from 95 at the end of September. The alliance says it has certified three times as many draft-n products in the first three months than it did for 802.11a/b/g during the first three months of their respective testing programs.
This all comes as ABI Research predicts that 90 percent of shipped Wi-Fi chipsets will support 802.11n by 2012.
Companies such as Cisco (which blessed 802.11n a few months ago), Netgear and ZyXel have recently added new 802.11n WLAN products to the ranks of the Wi-Fi Certified. Here's a look back at a few of the first.