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Atheros Unwires Xbox for
High-Performance Wireless Gaming
Using Atheros’ Advanced
Wireless-System-On-A-Chip, Xbox Wireless Adapter Connects an Xbox Video Game
System to Broadband Gaming Services
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct. 28,
2003—Atheros Communications, a leading developer of advanced,
multimode wireless LAN technology, today announced that its 802.11g
wireless-system-on-a-chip (WiSOC) chipset is featured in the new Xbox Wireless
Adapter (MN-740) from Microsoft. The chipset enables users to connect to any
802.11g or 802.11b Wi-Fi network and play games wirelessly via the Xbox Live
service, the world’s largest all-broadband console gaming service. Atheros
worked closely with Microsoft’s Xbox and Broadband Networking Groups to develop
the wireless LAN adapter. Xbox Wireless Adapter began shipping in the U.S. and
Canada this month at an estimated U.S. retail price of $139.
“With this new adapter, Xbox will deliver both
high-performance wireless gaming and an easy-to-use, seamless user experience,”
said Craig Barratt, president and chief executive officer of Atheros. “Atheros’
wireless LAN technology is ideally suited for high-bandwidth, consumer
applications like gaming, and we will continue to help partners like Microsoft
develop multimedia products with advanced wireless capabilities.”
Supporting the 802.11g Wi-Fi standard, Xbox Wireless
Adapter allows gamers to experience data rate transfer speeds up to 54 Mbps,
which is five times faster than an 802.11b Wi-Fi network. The higher performance
provides a significant increase in throughput, which results in a better user
playing experience, including higher quality multiplayer and head-to-head
gaming, live chats and other bandwidth-intensive applications.
“Atheros’ high performance and standards-based
wireless LAN technologies made its chipset a preferred solution for Microsoft,”
said Todd Greenberg, product manager for Broadband Networking at Microsoft Corp.
“This first-of-its-kind wireless adapter for Xbox gaming will make it much more
convenient to experience Xbox Live from any Xbox-connected television in
the home, without the need to use messy cables or drill holes in the walls.”
The Xbox Wireless Adapter uses Atheros’ 802.11g
WiSOC chipset, which supports 802.11b and 802.11g networks in the 2.4-GHz band.
Atheros chipsets support the latest wireless security standards such as Wi-Fi
Protected Access (WPA) and draft 802.11i Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
without reducing performance. They also include draft 802.11e Quality of Service
enhancements for multimedia and voice chat applications. For more information
about Atheros, please visit
www.atheros.com.
About
Atheros Communications, Inc.
Atheros Communications is a leading developer of networking
technologies for secure, high-performance wireless local area networks. As an
innovator in advanced multi-mode wireless solutions compliant with the IEEE
802.11 specifications, Atheros is driving transparent connections among
electronic devices in the office, home and on the road. Atheros technology is
being used by many of the world's leading wireless equipment manufacturers. For
more information, visit
www.atheros.com or send email to
info@atheros.com.
# # #
Atheros and the Atheros logo are trademarks of Atheros Communications,
Inc. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their
respective owners.
Cheryl Patstone, 408-773-5344, cheryl@atheros.com
or Greg Wood, A&R Partners, 650-762-2838,
gwood@arpartners.com.
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