Marvell intros first combo WiFi / Bluetooth chip for portables

We wouldn't even think of buying a cellphone that didn't incorporate both WiFi and Bluetooth, so you better believe we were excited to learn of semiconductor manufacturer Marvell's new combo 802.11a/b/g - BT chip for portables, which is supposedly the first of its kind. The so-called 88W8688 -- which supports Bluetooth 2.0 and hardware acceleration for UMA, IMS, etc. -- has a footprint of less than 80-square-millimeters, or about half the size of current two-chip combinations. For consumers, this will mean smaller versions of all the gadgets we love, and most importantly for us, those super-functional-but-chunky smartphones that we feel naked without. Although the chip is currently shipping to select Marvell OEM partners, it has yet to announced which specific device categories will see the first implementations; our plea: get these puppies to HTC as quickly as possible!

[Derek @ Aug 18th 2006 1:06PM]

Imagine the possibilities of that in a TyTn.

[Jake @ Aug 18th 2006 1:06PM]

Real exciting news. Just morph the Nokia N93 with the a thinner Nokia E61 and you will have a winner.

[PPC @ Aug 18th 2006 1:30PM]

Would the Excalibur come with it?

[Moe Hong @ Aug 18th 2006 3:48PM]

This is why they bought Intel's mobile chip division. It's not like Marvell came up with this all on their own. The two thousand people they just laid off did that. Viva le Capitalism!

[LinkDJ @ Aug 18th 2006 4:22PM]

Wait, let me get this straight...

"or about half the size of current two-chip combinations."

One chip is half of two chips? This must be straight from the press release =)

[Jake @ Aug 18th 2006 5:03PM]

Get the facts straight Moe. Marvell built this chip in house. It bought Intel's Xscale chip so it could bundle this chip in smartphones like the Treo, Q, Blackberry 8700, and HTC end devices that the Xscale processor is already in. It's single wifi chip was powerful enough to get design wins in the Xbox360, PS3, PSP, Nikon Coolpix 6, and Nokia N80. Marvell is no slouch.

[matthew m. barnes @ Aug 18th 2006 7:13PM]

screw HTC... get this chip to Apple and get me a sweet iPhone... stat!

[SR @ Aug 19th 2006 2:20AM]

Get this to Nokia ASAP! Their Wi-Fi enabled phones are a little big right now.

[SR @ Aug 19th 2006 2:27AM]

Wait a minute Jake so the N80 already has this chip? Nice. I wish they dropped it in the N73, because no Wi-Fi is the only reason I want an N93 instead (well apart from the sick PowerVR graphics on it).

[Pc_Madness @ Aug 19th 2006 3:25AM]

Get this into a UMPC. :)

[Intrepid @ Aug 19th 2006 6:32AM]

Put this into a WM6 device (when available) and my dreams will come true.