Bigfoot Networks Introduces "Killer" Wireless Networking Cards For Laptops
Bigfoot's Killer Wireless-N series of high-performance Wi-Fi adapters feature the vendor's Killer network interface card (NIC) technology along 802.11n features. Like its desktop counterparts such as the Killer 2100 and Xeno Pro cards, the Killer Wireless-N series is designed to optimize network traffic with a dedicated network processing unit (NPU), which removes CPU bottlenecks and reduces lag.
John Drewry, Bigfoot's vice president of marketing, said his company has been looking at expanding into the mobile space with wireless products for some time, and with the growth around content such as online PC games, streaming HD video and videoconferencing, the timing was right for the Killer Wireless-N series. "We've taken all the things we learned on the wired side with our network cards and brought them to the wireless side with this new product," Drewry said.
The Killer Wireless-N adapters come in half-size mini-PCIe form factors, support IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n standards, and operate on 2.4 and 5.0 GHz frequency bands. The Killer Wireless-N adapters will feature two models: the 1102, which features 2x2 MIMO (multiple input and multiple output) specs for rates of up to 300 Mbps, and the 1103, which features 3x3 MIMO and offers up to 450 Mbps.
The new products also come with some familiar Killer features such as Advanced Stream Detect, which automatically finds and prioritizes specific applications or functions for better quality, and Visual Bandwith Control, which allows users to see which applications are hogging bandwith and tune the performance. "We want customers to be able to see each unique stream and also have the ability to prioritize them," Drewry said.
The Killer Wireless-N 1102 is available now for an MSRP of $39.99, while the 1103 model will be available sometime in the second quarter. The pricing for the Killer Wireless-N 1103 has not been determined yet, the company said. Drewry said both products will also be featured in new high-performance and gaming notebooks from such system builders as AVADirect, CyberPower, MainGear and iBuyPower.
Bigfoot's new wireless card marks the company's second major product in less than two month. Bigfoot recently introduced the Killer E2100, an embedded version of its Killer NIC technology for motherboards.
"Purely from a volume perspective, we see this as a huge addition to our business," Drewry said. "We're not going to abandon the traditional desktop space, but the mobile space is obviously growing at a very fast rate."
In addition to capitalizing on laptops and notebooks, Drewry also said that Bigfoot is eyeing the tablet market. "We're absolutely looking at that space," he said. "The market is changing rapidly and the design cycles are longer than those for notebooks, so it's challenging, but we're definitely looking at different form factors for other mobile devices like tablets."