Atheros Communications announced a low-power chip for mobile WLAN devices that draws near-zero standby power and has nominal impact on battery life even in active mode, according to the company. The gains are achieved using a combination of advanced hardware and software power-saving protocols and techniques.
Atheros said that based on consistently repeated, actual power demonstration measurements, its new AR6002 chip consumes 70 percent less power than competitive solutions on the market in active mode while downloading content. This substantial power reduction results in longer battery life, enabling significantly more downloads and longer talk time between mobile device charges. For example, the AR6002 solution will take more than 100 hours to deplete a standard 3.7V, 800mAh phone battery in continual VoIP mode. In another application using the AR6002, 200 gigabytes of data can be downloaded before depleting the same battery.
In addition, Atheros said its AR6002 significantly extends battery life by drawing virtually zero power in standby, relieving users from having to switch the Wi-Fi function on and off. http://www.atheros.com
