Airgo's Smart Antenna Technology Gets Heard Loud And Clear
The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company recently signed on four vendors that will incorporate MIMOalso known as smart antenna technologyinto their wireless solutions.
The MIMO technology is included in Airgo's AGN100, an integrated chipset that includes a Baseband/MAC chip and an RF chip. The technology allows for the simultaneous processing of radio signals on multiple antennas, which increases coverage, range and speed.
SOHOware, Santa Clara, Calif., is one of the four vendors to recently sign OEM agreements with Airgo. The company has already included Airgo's technology in a line of WLAN products dubbed AeroGuard that support 802.11a/b/g, operate in both 2.4GHz and 5GHz, and incorporate IEEE 802.11 security and Quality of Service features.
Ashok Kumar, vice president of marketing at SOHOware, said the company is now offering the AeroGuard family of WLAN products includes the AeroGuard AGN1202 Access Point, a dual radio access point priced at $500. Similar competitive products, said Kumar, typically list in the $900 to $1,200 range.
"This product line really moves us up the value chain of products, and this one spans small to medium to large businesses and that's very attractive," Kumar said, adding that the AeroGuard family will be sold exclusively through the channel.
AIC Communication, a Trenton, N.J.-based solution provider, recently completed its first successful wireless network installation using the AeroGuard family for a hotel customer.
"For me, the easy installation, functionality and MIMO technology really makes this superior to access points made by Cisco [Systems]," said Robert Wu, president of AIC. "And while it's cheaper than Cisco, it's going to be more expensive than D-Link or Linksys. For all the functions, though, it's worth the price."