Proxim banks on CE for wireless expansion

The sudden explosion of interest in a series of different (and dare we say, mutually incompatible) wireless networking systems for the home and office has prompted a counter-strike from the old guard at Comdex. Wireless networking specialist Proxim has rounded up a group of 16 partners using its systems, which incidentally have the advantage of being for sale already. Proxim's customer base has so far tended to be relatively specialist, using pricier wireless networking systems when necessary rather than adopting them wholesale, and this so far has been the story of wireless networking's failure to take off. The imminent spectre of cheap, ubiquitous wireless networking can therefore be expected to galvanise companies like Proxim into action. One major breakthrough that may turn out to be crucial is the inclusion of Proxim's RangeLAN2 wireless technology in the latest edition of CE, Jupiter aka Handheld PC Professional Edition. This has allowed producers of CE devices to start integrating wireless networking in their machines, and as it'll be a while before the various alternative wireless connectivity systems get themselves de-flaked, Proxim probably has about a year to run with the ball. Partners showing at Comdex include: Casio, Citrix, Fujitsu, Futuresoft, HP, Hitachi, Internec, Microsoft, Mitsubishi, NEC, Odyssey Software and Sharp. ®