7:17pm EDT, Thu Sep 2

G2 Module Adds Low-Cost, Low-Power Wi-Fi to Any Mobile Device

By: The Online Reporter
Publish Date: October 24, 2008

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Psst! Want to add low-power Wi-Fi at a low cost to any mobile device? All the industry seers are predicting that every mobile gadget will soon come with Wi-Fi. G2 Microsystems' new Wi-Fi networking module allows device makers to Internet-enable any battery-powered or micro-controller-based device. Its new G2M5477 module provides complete Wi-Fi communications hardware and software, reducing the time it takes to get a product to market and eliminating design and testing hassles. It takes only one day to add Wi-Fi to a product design, the company said. The module uses less power and takes up less space than any other solution on the market, the company said, and is the only module that can enable alkaline battery-powered devices. "Wi-Fi's growth in consumer devices is about to accelerate," said Michael Stanford, analyst at large for The Linley Group, echoing many others. "New low-power Wi-Fi solutions with TCP/IP offload and flexible on- board processing, like the latest products from G2 Microsystems, now make it easy to Internet-enable simple, battery-powered devices." "We're making it fast and easy to put Wi-Fi in anything that manufacturers and innovators can imagine. You don't have to be an RF or wireless expert, you don't have to invest in a lot of customization, and you don't have to wait to get Wi-Fi going," said Geoff Smith, G2 co-founder and CEO. The G2M5477 module includes a built-in antenna, a 32-bit CPU, network stack, power-management system, real-time clock and a sensor interface. The module is pre-certified for FCC regulations. It works with a simple processor or autonomously, with no external processor at all, reducing development and testing time and engineering costs. The company says the module was designed to use the least amount of power possible. Its "sleep" and "active" modes know when to tap the power supply, yielding years of battery life. An "instant-on" feature ensures the module wakes up and authenticates to the network in less than 35 milliseconds, a time period that is not noticeable. The module uses G2's Wi-Fi/wireless sensing/RTLS system-on-a-chip, the G2C547. The company has evaluation kits available for designers to prototype Wi-Fi applications. High-volume production is planned for February 2009. The module loaded with software is available today in sample quantities and will sell for $22 in quantities of 10,000.