IBM Unveils Hi-Def Wireless Chip

IBM, likely tired of Intel stealing its chip market thunder, has created a wireless chip that allows high-definition file transfers as never before.

Based on the flashy, ever-changing 802.15.3c technology, these chips will carry information up to 10 meters, according to IBM.

“We’re looking at this for consumer applications, like high-definition video transfer,” said IBM research scientist Brian Gaucher. “You can get conference room coverage. We are not really looking at wall penetration.”

Sending signals through walls might not be a priority for today’s computer consumers; but removing a tangle of cables between video machines and audio equipment is, and this technology eliminates those entanglements.

The new chips radiate in the so-called “millimeter wave frequency bands,” which is a range of the radio spectrum that is now used mainly by military contractors. Whether this is a conflict of existing resources remains to be seen.

IBM has also announced the development of a chip package with an integrated antenna, reducing power use and other expenditures.