Texas startup Nitero is unveiling its first chip to deliver 60 gigahertz wireless networking in mobile devices.
The chip will help usher in a new kind of wireless networking for mobile devices that can transfer data 10 times more efficiently than other means.
Users will be able to take video on their smartphones and play it instantly in high-definition on their televisions. The Nitero NT4600 can support low-latency 4K display data transfers. It also has applications in broadcasting games from a small display to a big one.
Nitero’s NT4600 is built from the ground up for mobile applications, and it uses the 60 GHz band of the wireless spectrum and the IEEE 802.11ad standard. Samsung will manufacture the chip as a contract manufacturer for Austin, Texas-based Nitero.
Samsung will make the NT4600 chip in a 28-nanometer manufacturing process with special radio frequency features so that the chip can meet low-power requirements. Production shipments are expected in 2015.
“802.11ad, the next generation of Wi-Fi, is the missing link to allow for the long-awaited convergence of PC, gaming, and entertainment platforms onto a single mobile device. 802.11ad solutions built for the PC and slimmed down for mobile simply can’t meet the power, performance, and form-factor requirements of Tier 1 mobile customers,” said Pat Kelly, CEO of Nitero. “At Nitero, we targeted the smartphone from day one. The result is 60G.”
With the new short-range 60 GHz network, users will be able to stream video in the 4K video format to a TV without running out of battery quickly.
“The market for 60 GHz Wi-Fi is set to pick up in a big way in 2015 due to its adoption into increasingly powerful 4K-capable smartphones,” said Philip Solis, research director at ABI Research. “Nitero is one of the few companies that will have 60 GHz Wi-Fi modules ready for mobile products next year. The company makes a perfect complementary solution to Wi-Fi chipsets from companies that will not have 60 GHz solutions ready next year or have not planned for it in their roadmaps.”
Nitero spun out from NICTA and the University of Melbourne in 2011. It has funding from Austin Ventures, Southern Cross Venture Partners, and Trailblazer Capital.
