Broadcom doubling its mobile Wi-Fi speed with new chip
Going into September, the big mobile update on everyone's minds is likely the iPhone 6, but there is plenty of less flashy, but notable, hardware bits on the way too.
Intel will likely have its own news next week, but Broadcom is kicking off the month with a new processor boasted by its maker to be the industry’s highest performing 802.11ac combo (Bluetooth and Wi-Fi) chip.
The BCM4358 is a big leap for Broadcom as it is said to double the mobile Wi-Fi speed with a 867 Mbps Wi-Fi data throughput rate and 80MHz channel bandwidth.
The Irvine, Calif.-based company is also promising up to 50 percent better Bluetooth performance as well as higher location accuracy thanks to Round Trip Time (RTT) indoor location technology. The combination sets up the 2X2 MIMO combo chip for powering mobile devices and apps ready for location-based marketing and targeted advertising.
Aside from the potential for more personalized (or just plain more) mobile pop-up notifications, the results visible to smartphone and tablet users should include being able to stream and connect to multiple Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices simultaneously without buffering and interference issues.
In production now, the BCM4358 is being built to support Android, Windows and Chrome operating systems.