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Acer catches rising wave for wireless

A subsidiary of Acer Inc (宏電) that specializes in chips and modules for the wireless industry could be set to cash in on rising demand as analysts say the market for such products could grow 42 percent a year through 2005.

The company, Wistron NeWeb Corp (啟基科技), a subsidiary of Acer's manufacturing arm Wistron, makes the modules and chips that hook notebook and handheld computers to a company's internal Internet over the airwaves.

An often cited example of how this wireless technology will be used is in hospitals. A doctor with a handheld computer will be able to view documents, such as patient records, X-rays and lab results without having to plug the device into a wall socket.

This kind of Web access is called wireless local-area networking (WLAN), accessing a company's or building's network without using wires.

According to a report by Forward Concepts, a Tempe, Arizona-based market research firm, the market for WLAN chip products will grow at a 42 percent compound rate over the next four years after flat growth this year.

The researcher predicts the WLAN chip market will grow from US$1.6 billion this year to US$9.1 billion in 2005, and highlights chips based on an industry standard known as 802.11b. Of the many competing industry standards, 802.11b-compliant chips will perform far better than the average, growing at a compound rate of 82 percent per year over the next four years.

"The market for embedded WLANs, as built-in [rather than plug-in] features of laptop computers, Webpads, PDAs, pocket PCs and even cellphones will begin to blossom in 2002 and is projected to eclipse both home and enterprise markets by 2005," said the Forward Concepts press statement.

Wistron NeWeb designs products specifically for this standard. Over the past week, this Acer Inc member, has released three different product announcements promoting new modules and chips to hook notebook computers and PDAs into local networks wirelessly.

The firm is providing two-one-modules that work with both the 802.11b and Bluetooth protocols. The firm believes it is strategically placed to take advantage of demand in the notebook and PDA sectors.

Taiwan produces over half the world's notebooks and is a leader in PDA and Internet Appliance production.

The Hsinchu-based firm worked with researchers at National Chiao Tung University to develop the Bluetooth capability of its products. Bluetooth is a standard for device-to-device communication, for example between a notebook and a PDA.

According to one engineer from Taiwan's second largest notebook manufacturer, Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶電腦), wireless functions will be the key driver for notebook sales next year.

Bluetooth and 802.11 are two key features already available on high-end notebooks and many PDAs, like Compaq's iPaq.

By the middle of next year, they will be standard on all devices, he said.
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