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Dear Members,
The WiMedia Board of Directors (BoD) would like to help you understand more about our Alliance and the activities that are taking place at the BoD level. In an effort to do this the board plans to include a message section in each membership communication bulletin. If you feel that we are not answering your questions or you have specific questions, please feel free to drop us a suggestion in the WiMedia suggestion box. It can be found at: http://www.wimedia.org/en/members_area/index.asp?id=mem#suggestions
2008 has already seen many changes at the board level. In an effort to help our membership bring product to the market faster and to address the growing pains in the alliance as we increase in membership, the board felt it was necessary to create four vice president (VP) roles to ensure that there is focus and direction in each of the major areas for the alliance. Please welcome WiMedia’s newly appointed officers: VP of Finance and Operations - Tom Siep (interim President), VP of Product Management - Clint Chaplin, VP of Technology - Roberto Aiello, and VP of Business Development - Kristine Overlaur. Full details of their roles and responsibilities are available by going to the WiMedia Web site at: http://www.wimedia.org/en/about/board.asp?id=abt. |
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WiMedia Features
From The MWG
 Steve Brightman – WiMedia’s New Marketing Director
WiMedia recently hired Steve Brightman as the new marketing director in charge of communication programs. Following is a brief Q&A written to introduce Brightman to the membership.
Q: Please tell us a little bit about your background and how you came to WiMedia.
Brightman: My professional career has all been in the semiconductor industry. I started my career with TI and spent 17 years there. Since that time I seem to have gravitated towards smaller companies, including startups. My background is mostly mixed-signal / analog with a little bit of radio frequency (RF) thrown in along the way. When I heard the WiMedia Alliance was looking to expand its marketing activities I was intrigued and after attending a members' meeting to see what it was all about I woke up to find myself an employee!
Q: How do you see WiMedia fitting into the wireless market?
Brightman: I think WiMedia has a big role to play in the future of personal wireless applications. There are relatively few wireless standards in use today, and they serve well-defined applications. For example, most people know that Wi-Fi is how they network their home computers together to share Internet access or Bluetooth is how they connect from their phone to their wireless headset. In the future, as wireless systems become more pervasive, there is a real problem to be faced with potential interference from multiple radios operating in the same vicinity.
The WiMedia Wireless Radio Platform (WRP) addresses this quite nicely by providing a common basis for all these radios whether they be Bluetooth implementations, Wireless USB implementations or some other flavor. All these implementations will continue to function correctly without clashing with other radios in the vicinity. Also, by implementing Personal wireless networks in room-sized environments interference with networks in other rooms is essentially eliminated, while fitting into a broader ecosystem that may also feature Wi-Fi for connectivity throughout the house, and/or WiMax for Wide Area Networks.
Q: What opportunities do you see for current and prospective members of the WiMedia Alliance?
Brightman: Now is a great time to be a member of the Alliance. Since the first end-equipment shipments starting in the latter half of last year certification activity has continued to ramp up. This, in turn, will result in increasing numbers of products becoming available to end consumers, which of course, means revenue for our members. The momentum is starting to build. At the same time, members are working on extensions to the current specifications which will continue to open further markets in areas such as higher-speed, short-range connectivity; lower-power options for mobile battery-powered devices, and markets worldwide by comprehending local regulatory standards.
Q: Do you think this is going to be WiMedia’s year?
Brightman: It is always a great feeling to see the results of your labors begin to bear fruit. Many members have been working very hard for the last few years to nail down the specifications which have resulted in real products appearing on retailers’ shelves. This is the year when wireless USB, for example, has appeared "built-in" to laptops compared to requiring some sort of host adapter. So you could consider this to be the "year of adoption." Of course next year could be WiMedia's year too – that could become the "year of revenue."
Q: What excites you about your new job?
Brightman: Above all, the potential of the technology is really exciting. As I mentioned before, the WiMedia WRP addresses a multitude of exciting applications compared to most alliances which are largely driven by just one or two applications. The opportunity to be a part of making that process happen is at the same time both challenging and very exciting.
Article Feature
Interview with Stephen Wood, President of WiMedia Alliance
The Western Technologies Research Solution published a recent newsletter article profiling Stephen Wood, president of WiMedia Alliance. Read the complete article by going to: http://www.wtrs.net/newsletter_051408.htm. |
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Tradeshows & Events
Mobile World Congress 2008
February 11-14, 2008
Barcelona, Spain
www.mobileworldcongress.com
UWB Technology on Display at Mobile World Congress 2008
Four of the leading WiMedia members, Alereon Inc., Artimi Inc., Staccato Communications and Stonestreet One highlighted the latest applications of the WiMedia internationally standardized Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology at the 2008 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The WiMedia TechZone offered product and technology demonstrations within the heavy-traffic main exhibition area of Hall 2.
Following the recent announcement that Germany has approved the use of UWB technology (part of a 2007 decision by the EU) to allow the use of UWB technology throughout Europe, increasing numbers of WiMedia members in the PC, CE and mobile device industries will be able to offer European consumers various products enabled with UWB technology.
WiMedia Alliance Demonstrates UWB Adoption at Open House and Exhibition
March 26, 2008
Burlingame, California
http://www.wimedia.org/en/events/openhouse.asp?id=events
Illustrating the rapid adoption of our global standard for wireless personal area networking (WPAN), WiMedia hosted our largest Member Meeting and Open House to date: 167 total attendees. This exclusive Open House, one-day event offered (over) 60 attendees a comprehensive look at the impact of UWB in the PC, CE and mobile device industries. The Open House Speaker Program included presentations from our alliance president, Stephen Wood/Intel; board member, Roberto Aiello/Staccato Communications; contributor member and diamond sponsor, Ellisys/James Wright’ and principal analyst, Brian O’Rourke/In-Stat.The highlight of our Open House featured a high-profile customer panel hosted by Brian O’Rourke; C-level speakers from leading consumer companies (IOGEAR, Lenovo and Toshiba) showed their industry support and insight into the future demand of UWB.
In support of the ongoing UWB message, we would like to extend a special thanks to our Sponsors: Diamond Sponsor: Ellisys; Platinum Sponsors: Intel, USB-IF; Gold Sponsor: Agilent Technologies; Silver Registration Sponsor: Stonestreet One; Logo Sponsors: LeCroy Corp., NXP and Wisair; Demonstrators: Alereon, Artimi, LitePoint Corp., LucidPORT, Realtek Semiconductor Corp., Synopsys, Taiyo Yuden, WiLinx Corp. and WiQuest Communications.
Intel Developer Forum
April 2-3, 2008
Shanghai, China
www.intel.com/idf
The WiMediaTM Alliance demonstrated continuous support of WUSB at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) Shanghai by participating in the Wireless community with Intel, Realtek Semiconductor Corp. and the USB Implementers Forum. The rapidly-growing number of WUSB products demonstrates the WiMedia Alliance’s dedication to enhancing the interoperability of its common radio platform and to supporting emerging usage models and capabilities. Built upon the WiMedia Common Radio Platform, and supported by a robust ecosystem, WUSB utilizes the only international standard for UWB wireless connectivity. As the most robust wireless link for multimedia, UWB enables all existing USB applications in WUSB format, offering wireless storage, file transfer and high-quality video streaming capabilities. |
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PR PLACE
WMA Press Release / Media Alert
Read the complete announcements by going to:
http://www.wimedia.org/en/events/index.asp?id=events
Ultra-Wideband Product Availability Continues to Surge, 5/19/08
http://www.wimedia.org/imwp/idms/popups/pop_download.asp?contentID=13240
WiMedia Alliance to Promote Wireless USB at IDF Shanghai, 3/31/2008
http://www.wimedia.org/imwp/idms/popups/pop_download.asp?contentID=12923
First Dual-Band UWB PHYs Achieve WiMedia Registration, 3/11/2008
http://www.wimedia.org/imwp/idms/popups/pop_download.asp?contentID=12809
WMA News Coverage
Read the complete articles by going to:
http://www.wimedia.org/en/events/index.asp?id=events
UWB-based Short Range Wireless Technology to Have a Profound Impact on Future Mobile Device Communications (Centre Daily Times), 5/19/08
http://www.centredaily.com/business/technology/story/602410.html
UWB - A Window of Opportunity (Cellular News), 5/6/2008
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/30983.php
Reducing Power Consumption in Ultrawideband Chips (EE Times), 4/1/2008
http://www.eetimes.com/news/design/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207000819
Dual-Band UWB PHYs Gain WiMedia Registration (Auto Electronics), 3/27/2008
http://autoelectronics.com/news/dual_band_uwb_0327/
WiMedia Chip Companies Announce Certifications (Wireless Net DesignLine), 3/12/2008
http://www.wirelessnetdesignline.com/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=
1ICTC1ECFTET4QSNDLOSKH0CJUNN2JVN?articleID=206903204&queryText=WiMedia |
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MEMBER CORNER
CRB Members Election
CRB member’s election will be held in June according to the CRB Membership rule published in WiMediaTM Alliance Compliance and Interoperability Policy, 4.2. Any Contributor or Promoter member company is eligible for election. The nominees need to present their qualifications for BoD consideration.
WELCOME WAGON!
Please welcome WiMedia’s new members of 2008!!
Contributor:
Ericsson AB
Adopter:
Quintic Corporation * TUV Rheinland
Supporter:
7 layers AG * AWAH System, Inc * Engineering Club at SFCC * Fujitsu Siemens Computers GmbH * General Dynamics Canada * Golden Ocean International Techno-business Co. * GWT-TUD GmbH * Highlander Technologies, Inc. * Insys Canada * Kasshku Information Technologies * Korea Testing Laboratory (KTL) * MRL Technology * Tanvana Technologies * Unique Lab, Inc., * University of Kaiserslautern * Vestel Electronics * Zaapa Iberica * Zoran Imaging Division
Wireless USB “Dual-Role Device”
Wipro-NewLogic, the leader in connectivity IP cores, demonstrated their Wireless USB “Dual Role Device” MAC IP Core on their FireFlyTM reference board. The DRD MAC IP Core was used to showcase a chat session between two PCs, one in the host mode and one in the device mode. The same IP was used for the host mode as well as the device mode, showing the dual-role nature. |
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The material in this newsletter is intended for WiMedia Alliance members only, and should be considered confidential per the terms of your member agreement.
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