Summit Data Communications Extends Wi-Fi Client Reach
Summit Data Communications, Inc., a leading provider of wireless LAN radios for business-critical application-specific devices (ASDs), announced new products and new operating system support. Wi-Fi radio cards in Summit’s new 20G Family deliver market-leading wireless LAN technology to mobile devices with external compact flash and PCMCIA slots. Support for Windows XP and XP Embedded (XPe) extends Summit’s client reach beyond the world of Windows CE and Windows Mobile(R).
20G Family: Summit Strengths in External Slots
The Summit 20G Family of IEEE 802.11g client cards includes two products: a compact flash card and a PCMCIA card. Each card combines a Summit 10G Family radio module, a high-performance diversity antenna under a protective cover, and Summit’s enterprise-class software. The result is a Wi-Fi card that, when inserted in a device’s external card slot, delivers the same market-leading performance, reliable operation, Wi-Fi and Cisco certifications, and other capabilities found on mobile devices with Summit’s 10G modules inside.
“Whether a device uses an internal Summit module or an external Summit card, the device has the full Summit feature set,” said Ron Seide, Summit’s president. “Thanks to Summit’s radio hardware and antenna design, 20G cards offer unsurpassed range, throughput, operating temperature range, and battery life. Summit’s software works in tandem with the hardware to ensure reliable connectivity, fast roaming, robust security, flexible configuration options, informed troubleshooting, and many other capabilities demanded by enterprise customers. Each of these capabilities is proven on real devices in the harshest customer environments, where any failure can result in lost data, a loss of productivity, and a hit to the organization’s bottom line.”
XP Support: More Devices and Applications
Summit initially delivered its complete software suite on Windows CE and Windows Mobile because those operating systems are predominant on data terminals and similar devices. Now, by porting its software to XP and XPe, Summit enables its radio modules and cards to operate on even more business-critical mobile devices.
“With XP support, Summit products can be a critical component of many exciting applications,” said Norm Dumbroff, president of WAV, Inc., Summit’s value-added distributor. “One example is medical carts, also known as computers on wheels, or COWs. A typical COW uses an XP laptop housed within a protective metal case. If the Wi-Fi radio and its antennas are within the case, then the range is severely limited. The perfect solution is the Summit PC10G, a PCMCIA card with support for one or two external antennas. With the antenna or antennas outside the case, the Summit radio delivers tremendous range. And Summit’s software provides strong security that meets the stringent standards of the medical industry.”
Pricing and Availability
Summit offers two 20G models: the SDC-CF20G compact flash card and the SDC-PC20G PCMCIA card. Each is an 802.11g card with an integrated diversity antenna. Both products are Wi-Fi CERTIFIED(R) and certified for Cisco Compatible Extensions Version 3 for ASDs.
List prices are US$119 for the CF20G card and US$139 for the PC20G card. Volume discounts are available to qualified mobile device vendors. The purchase price covers radio hardware, all necessary software, and a broad range of certification and support services provided by Summit and Summit partners. Summit 20G cards are available in pilot quantities now and will be available in production quantities in July.
Summit software for XP and XPe will be available to qualified organizations for testing later this month and will be generally available in July. Summit software supports both the 10G Family and the 20G Family of Summit products.
For more information, send an E-mail to sales@summitdatacom.com, or call 866.434.4300 in North America or +1 330.434.7929 internationally.
About Summit
Summit Data Communications, Inc. is dedicated to providing high-performance wireless LAN radio modules and cards for today’s business-critical mobile devices, such as portable data terminals, portable printers, medical devices, and industrial automation equipment. Summit radios are optimized for the challenging radio environments in which business-critical mobile devices operate, including factories, warehouses, ports, hospitals, and retail stores.
Wi-Fi(R) and Wi-Fi CERTIFIED(R) are registered trademarks of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Windows(R) and Windows Mobile(R) are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
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