Wi-fiAlliance
Latest
WiFi's tougher WPA3 security is ready
WiFi security is finally getting an upgrade after 14 years. The Wi-Fi Alliance has officially launched WPA3, the next-generation standard that promises to tackle many of the vulnerabilities that have persisted in wireless networking. Most notably, it brings individualized data encryption that should protect your data against eavesdropping from within the WiFi network. You'll also get tougher password-based sign-ins through Simultaneous Authentication of Equals, a key establishment protocol that reduces the chances of someone guessing your password -- even if it's lousy.
Tougher WiFi security will keep you safe at the coffee shop
WiFi security hasn't changed much since WPA2 came to be in 2004, and that's becoming increasingly apparent when public hotspots are frequently risky and glaring exploits are all too common. It's about to get a long-due upgrade, though: the Wi-Fi Alliance plans to roll out a WPA3 standard that addresses a number of weak points. For many, the highlight will be individualized data encryption. Even if you're on an open public network, you won't have to worry quite so much about someone snooping on your data.
WiFi spec update promises to double your wireless speeds
You might not have to wait until 802.11ad arrives in earnest to get a big boost in WiFi network speeds. The Wi-Fi Alliance has officially debuted the 802.11ac wave 2 standard, which promises a big leap in speed without reinventing the wheel. It doubles the bandwidth per channel, which could double your performance in good conditions. You're more likely to hit those speeds, too. There's an additional spatial stream and wider 5GHz channel support, and MU-MIMO (multi-user, multiple input multiple output) lets routers send data to multiple devices at the same time -- you're less likely to see your download bog down because someone else in your home is streaming video.
Apple iOS 7 supports WiFi Hotspot 2.0
In keeping with tradition, this year's WWDC keynote presented a massive amount of new information about the future of Apple's products. So much information is shared at WWDC that to catch it all, you've got to pay close attention to each and every slide available. One of this year's quietest announcements was the inclusion of Hotspot 2.0 support for the upcoming iOS 7. It's okay if you missed it; no one commented on it, the news was simply included in a slide during the presentation. So why does Hotspot 2.0 matter to you? In short, it could help save heavy-data users in metropolitan areas a lot of money. Hotspot 2.0 is a form of public-access WiFi that automatically connects your phone to a WiFi network when you enter its range. The project is an extension of the nonprofit WiFi Alliance's Certified Passpoint system. Connections made via this system have WPA2 security protection, meaning your information is safe from other users. Hotspot 2.0 connections are made without users having to search for a network, figure out a login and other modern WiFi hassles. Users who find themselves in public areas with a weak signal would still have access to online services thanks to these hotspots. As the implementation becomes more widespread users will find the added benefit of what the Wi-Fi Alliance called "WiFi Roaming," moving about and connecting to different supported networks as you move from location to location. Its success will depend on how widespread Hotspot 2.0 access points can become, but as a heavy-data user myself, one whose mobile carrier is constantly trying to limit data use, a future where we're more reliant on open, secure WiFi is a beautiful dream. We'll let you know more about Apple's service details as they become available. Samsung's Galaxy S 4 currently has Hotspot 2.0 access, but you've got time before it's going to be useful. It will still be a year or two before the necessary tech is widespread enough to be of any real use.
Microsoft backs free Boingo WiFi in NYC and San Francisco, hopes you'll see Metro on the metro
Microsoft is about to launch a giant media blitz for Windows 8, and it wants to guarantee that even those of us heads-down in our laptops and smartphones take notice. It's sponsoring Boingo's WiFi, making it free at popular locations in New York City and San Francisco through the holidays to pitch both its new OS and the Windows Store. The San Francisco locations are already active and mostly cover signature locations such as Fisherman's Wharf and Union Square, but Microsoft is going all-out for the New York City campaign starting November 1st: the free WiFi will reach over 200 locations in Manhattan as well as the six NYC subway stations offering underground wireless. While some might not enjoy the hard sell on Windows 8 while they're checking into Foursquare, we'd say it's at least relevant that Microsoft pushes its urban sign UI in the city that was arguably the software's major inspiration. [Image credit: pspyro2009, Flickr]
Wi-Fi Alliance announces first Miracast-certified devices, full compatibility with Intel WiDi
Take note, because there's a new standard in realm of wireless video streaming and it's known as Miracast. Since the initial announcement, some very respectable manufacturers have chosen to support the specification, which includes Broadcom, NVIDIA and Texas Instruments. Now the Wi-Fi Alliance has announced the first round of products to be certified for Miracast, and as an extremely welcome bit of news, all Intel WiDi devices are supported by the latest standard. In addition to PCs, you can expect Miracast certification to be blessed upon devices such as smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes and televisions. In the retail setting, all Miracast-certified devices will carry the more generic "WiFi Certified" badge (shown here), which also covers technologies such as WiFi Direct. You'll find the press release after the break, which includes the initial list of products and components that've already earned their credentials, along with statements of support from manufacturers such as LG, Samsung and Sony. Not to be left out, we also reached out to Qualcomm, which confirmed its support for the standard, along with its expectation to offer some of the very first products certified for Miracast. It seems that Apple's AirPlay now has some rather determined competition, indeed.
NVIDIA throws support behind Miracast as wireless display standard
TI may have blazed the trail, but today NVIDIA has announced that it'll support Miracast as an integral part of its Tegra mobile platform. If you'll recall, Miracast is a creation of the Wi-Fi Alliance, which aims to create a new standard for wireless displays by way of a reference specification and certification program. There are few concrete details to share at this point, as the Miracast spec has yet to be ratified, but NVIDIA has already engaged a number of manufacturers in an effort to drum up support for the new standard -- think it's reason enough for the WiDi and AirPlay crowds to worry?
Samsung SGH-i547 runs through certification gauntlets with quad-band LTE, shroud of mystery
Samsung is already cooking up a lot of mid-range phones for Sprint and Verizon in the near future. Why not throw an AT&T model on the stove? Based on a flood of certifications (and Samsung's own browser profile), the SGH-i547 will sit squarely in the mid-range of Big Blue's Android phones -- with one exception. Its 800 x 480 screen, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC won't rock most people's worlds, but the quad-band LTE still sticks out like a sore thumb despite other in-testing devices going the same route: the 700MHz, 850MHz, 1,700MHz and 1,900MHz bands may give the i547 more 4G support than AT&T-compatible 3G. We suspect the support is either an early sign of LTE futureproofing or for roaming on LTE networks as they go live around the world. Globetrotter or not, the i547 still has a lot left hidden under its kimono; we're expecting one or two more surprises before all is said and done.
TI cuts the cables, backs Miracast as wireless video standard for OMAP platform
It wasn't but a few days ago that the Wi-Fi Alliance announced its certification program for the Miracast wireless display specification. Now, TI has thrown its weight behind the technology with the announcement that future versions of its OMAP processor and WiLink connectivity chip will adhere to Miracast standards. As you'll recall, the Miracast certification program has yet to go into effect -- that'll happen later this summer -- which means for the time being, it's still too early to refer to TI's solution as "Wi-Fi Certified Miracast." Nonetheless, the company's already showing its compatible wares this week at Computex, which currently includes the OMAP 4470 / WiLink 7.0 combo. Naturally, TI also intends to ensure Miracast support as part of its upcoming OMAP 5 / WiLink 8.0 platform. As if you needed yet another reason to be excited for that one. To learn more, you'll find the full PR after the break.
Wi-Fi Alliance announces Miracast wireless display certification program
The ability to transmit audio-visual content over WiFi is poised to launch a bit of a cable-free revolution in the living room, but before that happens, the Wi-Fi Alliance hopes that manufacturers will rally behind its standard set of technologies known as Miracast -- in the process, burying WiDi and giving AirPlay a run for its money. While the certification program itself has yet to be finalized, it's said to launch later this year and will bless all compatible devices with the "Wi-Fi Certified Miracast" mark. Everything from televisions and set-top boxes, to notebooks, smartphones and tablets will be eligible for certification, which means that we may begin to see the seal in a hell of a lot more places. The PR itself provides scant additional details, but if you're so inclined, feel free to hop the break.
NTT showcases next-gen 802.11ac wireless LAN solution, hopes for near-term commercialization
NTT DoCoMo's never been one to back down from the future, and some might say this carrier is actually already living in 2012. You know -- Land of the Rising Sun and all. At any rate, its latest foray into what's next came at the Wireless Technology Park in Yokohama, where it demonstrated a fully-functional 802.11ac prototype wireless system. For those unaware, that's what is scheduled to make 802.11n look like the 101 at lunchtime, with an effective throughput of 1Gbps per system. If all goes well, NTT will be commercializing the system "within a few years," and based on a demonstrated throughout of 120Mbps (as in, real-world results), we're hoping "few" becomes "one."
Samsung's new Galaxy Tab 10.1 hits the FCC with GT-P7510 moniker
Yes, this is Samsung's latest 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab alright, not to be mistaken with its thicker 10.1v sibling that's gradually rolling out across Europe and Australia. How can you tell? Well, the older Honeycomb tablet bears the GT-P7100 codename, whereas this FCC filing and a Wi-Fi Alliance certificate show off the GT-P7510 moniker for this WiFi-only 10.1. Oh, and the drawing of the backside -- pictured after the break -- is a dead giveaway, of course. What remains unknown is the mysterious 1GHz dual-core CPU inside this razor-thin slate, but given the release of this FCC application, it probably won't be long before all is revealed.
Switched On: Techonciliation
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. "Don't throw the past away. You might need it some rainy day." -Peter Allen, from the song "Everything Old Is New Again" During the late '90s and early '00s, the hype bubble grew large about a number of ideas that never reached critical mass. WebTV was going to democratize the Internet, but it devolved into a market niche after being acquired by Microsoft. WiFi providers such as MobileStar and later Cometa Networks hoped to build vast WiFi networks that would compete with cellular plans. Those bubbles popped back in the day, but curiously, companies are now willing to pump some energy back into them. The question is whether they are in any better position to float this time around.
Wi-Fi Alliance launches hotspot certification program, aims to ease cell-to-WiFi handoff woes
If you've been paying even a slight bit of attention to carriers over the past year and change, you'd know that a number of 'em are resorting to citywide WiFi networks in order to relieve some of the stress being placed on their 3G networks. It's definitely a viable solution for a problem that requires oodles to time (and far too many signatures) to plant new cell sites, but there's a looming issue: compatibility. Naturally, the Wi-Fi Alliance is all over it, today launching an initiative to transform the user experience in hotspots. The Wi-Fi Certified hotspot testbed will address authentication and provision of service for public WiFi networks, essentially acting to "facilitate the seamless handoff of cellular traffic from smartphones, tablets and other portable electronics to WiFi, helping service providers manage demands on constrained licensed spectrum." We're told that the program will allow devices to "discover and automatically choose networks based upon user preferences, operator policies and network optimization," and in many cases, they'll be automatically granted access to the network based upon credential mechanisms, such as SIM cards. Hard to say what this will mean for limits and structuring, but we're bound to find out more as the 1H 2012 target launch date draws nearer. Full release is after the break, per usual.
Dell Streak 7 gets certified in WiFi-only form, shows up on Amazon for pre-order
At about $200 on-contract, Dell's Streak 7 is one of the cheaper ways to get yourself into an Android tablet -- or at least into one made by a manufacturer you've actually heard of before. But, that "on-contract" bit means of course the 3G-equipped handheld will be considerably more expensive in the long-run -- or $450 up-front if you skip the contract. Here's one that isn't. Early this AM we got word that a WiFi only version of the tablet had been certified and, now, here it is up on Amazon for pre-order. No release date is available but the price is: $379.99. That's about $70 less than the 3G model and $20 less than the 3G-free Galaxy Tab is expected to retail for. Is that cheap enough to make up for its flaws? That, dear reader, is a question you must answer for yourself.
Study: 802.11ac devices to hit the one billion mark in 2015, get certified in 2048
Okay, so there's a good chance that the developing 802.11ac Gigabit wireless standard will receive its official seal of approval long before 2048, but by 2015? Given that it took 802.11n a full seven years to move on from Draft N status, we aren't holding our collective breath. Regardless, there's obviously a need for a far faster interface than what we're using now, and the Wi-Fi Alliance is obviously doing everything it can to keep on keeping on. According to a loose study by In-Stat, Planet Earth will go from zero 802.11ac devices in 2010 to one billion by 2015, with Vice President of Research Frank Dickson noting that a draft of 802.11ac should be cleared at some point in 2011. As for backwards compatibility? Looks like you'll just have to wait and see.
Dell's 7-inch (or 10-inch) Android tablet gets WiFi certification?
Remember how Dell's supposed to be introducing a 7-inch Tegra 2-powered Android tablet, like, right now, possibly followed by a 10-inch model in a few months? Well, we're not saying that's what's going on here, but consider the facts: the original 5-inch Streak has a model code of M01M, and a new device with code M02M just popped up in the Wi-Fi Alliance's certification database identified as a "Mobile Internet Device" in the Smartphone category. Yes, 7 inches is a bit large for a "smartphone," but the Alliance doesn't have a great category for these tweeners that support cellular data (and like the European Galaxy Tab, some of them really are smartphones anyway). PocketNow suggests that we could also be looking at the Streak 2, which is possible -- but considering the groundswell of rumors we've been hearing about a slightly larger tablet in the pipeline, that's where our money lies. That holds especially true considering how close we are to CES, which promises to be a veritable tablet-fest this year -- but regardless, we bet the truth comes out within the next couple weeks.
Samsung Galaxy S first smartphone to be Wi-Fi Direct certified
Samsung has generally been on the cutting edge when it comes to giving its smartphones the latest and greatest in terms of compatibility, with the Omnia being the first DivX certified handset in America this month two years ago. Now, it's looking to wrangle yet another first, with this one having the potential to be far more important. The outfit's hot-selling Galaxy S smartphone (GT-I9000) is now listed on the Wi-Fi Alliance's Wi-Fi Direct certification docket, and while we knew that a handful of Wi-Fi modules and chipsets were about to get green-lit, this marks the first actual device to join that crowd. As we mentioned before, any modern-era WiFi device is capable of becoming Direct certified (via a firmware update given that there's no hardware change in the protocol), but it seems as if Sammy is being Johnny-on-the-spot. We'll keep an ear to the ground regarding an actual update that brings this functionality to life, but for now, let's all cross our fingers and hope those other phone makers get their handsets in line, too.
HomePlug Powerline Alliance and Wi-Fi Alliance align, hope for wireless home nirvana
Ah, now we're talking. Over the years, HomePlug and wireless HD / HDMI haven't exactly "taken off." Routing internet signals over a home's power network has been hampered by subpar transmission rates, and using wireless in the home for anything other than basic web duties has shown to be either too costly or too much hassle. Now, however, the HomePlug Powerline Alliance and the Wi-Fi Alliance have seen the light, and they're joining hands in order to jointly push their technologies to homeowners. Focused primarily on " facilitating interoperability of smart grid applications," these organizations are fixing to enable SEP 2.0 applications to operate across a diverse mix of wireless and wired networks, and hopefully they'll reach out to product manufacturers while they're at it. Here's hoping they'll be able to nail it -- the demand is certainly there, but the execution thus far has been downright depressing.
Wi-Fi Direct certification begins today, device-to-device transmission starting soon
So, Bluetooth -- last fall didn't end up being as frightful as you had probably imagined, but this fall is bound to be different. Or so the Wi-Fi Alliance says. If you'll recall, Wi-Fi Direct promised to do what Bluetooth had been doing for years, but with far less fuss and on a protocol that's much more widespread. A solid year has come and gone, and we've heard nary a word from any company who plans on implementing it. Thankfully for us all, that changes today. Starting in mere moments, Wi-Fi Direct devices will begin the certification process, and while we couldn't extract exact product details or a release time frame for future wares on a media call regarding the announcement, we did get the impression that at least a few partners were trying to get Wi-Fi Direct wares onto shelves before Christmas. As for functionality, the claims are fairly impressive. In order to make a direct device-to-device connection over WiFi, just one of the two need to be Wi-Fi Direct certified. In other words, a Wi-Fi Direct printer can recognize and interface with your Latitude D410 laptop from 1999, as all Wi-Fi Direct certified devices have to be able to control the one-to-one relationship. The goal here is pretty simple -- it's to create a protected connection between two devices over WiFi with as little hassle as possible. Think Bluetooth, but using WiFi. We also learned that "most" products certified will also support "one-to-many" connections, enabling a Wi-Fi Direct laptop to be in contact with a printer, connected HDTV and a tablet simultaneously, with no router in-between at any point. We should also point out that while 802.11a/g/n is supported over 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, there's no requirement for Wi-Fi Direct products to support 802.11b, so legacy users may want to pay attention to that quirk. There's also no new hardware requirements here, so in theory, any existing WiFi chipset could be upgraded via firmware to handle Wi-Fi Direct -- whether or not that'll happen on a large scale was a question the Wi-Fi Alliance couldn't answer for us. Finally, they noted that the app ecosystem is likely to make this whole rollout a lot more interesting, particularly considering that Direct is simply a pipe that software can dictate as it sees fit. We'll be keeping a close eye on the developments here; we've waited way too long for this to blossom, but we're pretty jazzed about the possibilities. Head on past the break for a video overview of how Wi-Fi Direct works.
