Semiconductor manufacturer Marvell has announced that it has developed the world’s first chip to combine Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on one die. The cryptically-named Marvell 88W8688 manages to deliver this in a chip that is about half of the current two-chip solutions available. The chip supports 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 and hardware acceleration for UMA, IMS, and other network access methods and is intended for a variety of products including cellphones, media players, portable gaming consoles, smartphones and handhelds among others. Aside from the smaller footprint, consumers can also expect improved battery life.
The Marvell 88W8688 is currently shipping to tier one OEM partners.
Source: Engadget