what is the most common wireless standard used? a or b ? will g ever take over?

[dowxp]

linksys just released their g version for about $50 at buy.com with a coupon or so, but a linksys dualband a+b card is at least $100. im about to buy a laptop and im not sure what people use out there. i have read g is incompatible with a, and "a and b both"cannot even talk with each other. logic then tells me to just get a b card, since i wont really need 54mbps for surfing.

if this is the case, what is the "amd" of b cards? =p.

 

[JonTheBaller]

AFAIK b is the most common; it's what I use at school and at home. It's the cheapest and has longer range than a.

 

[bgeh]

the most common standard is 802.11b
it's on a 2.4 ghz radio frequency
and is at 11 mbps

the 802.11a uses the 5.4 ghz radio frequency
and therefore is incompatible with the 802.11 b standard
and is at 54 mbps

the 802.11g uses the 2.4 ghz radio frequency
and therefore should be backwards compatible with the 802.11b standard
its speed is at 54mbps

 

[buleyb]

right, B is most common, A and B can't talk, G can talk with B, and can have the speed of A, but cannot talk to A

All in all, the G standard isn't finalized, its still draft...and the released hardware is to that draft spec. If something changes when its finalized, you might be screwed with a current G system, but it will still talk B, so why not get a G.

What that confusing enough ?

 

[Doggiedog]

The Linksys G products are all based on the 802.11g chip from Broadcom. Broadcom rushed this chip out to try and make it in for the Christmas season (which they failed to do). Intersil, the leading 802.11b chip producer (60% market share) and the lead protocol designer of the g standard said they would not be able to make the holiday season and preferred to take their time with the chip. I believe Intersil is now starting to ship some of the g chips to their customers but you won't see them in volume until March. I probably would wait til then since Intersil is the leading practitioner of the g standard.

 

[merlocka]

and the lead protocol designer of the g standard

dunno about that

said they would not be able to make the holiday season and preferred to take their time with the chip.

do you think they really prefer to take their time when they could be selling it

I probably would wait til then since Intersil is the leading practitioner of the g standard.

dunno about that one either

 

[Doggiedog]

Well, I know. I heard it from the horse's mouth meaning the CEO's last week at a conference.

I know the company very well as I've followed them for years as a stock analyst.

Dug this up. As the leading manufacturer of 802.11b chips, it was in Intersil's best interests to get the IEEE to approve the g standard since it is backwards compatible.

A company like Intersil would want to take the time to make sure a chip is done correctly because a recall would be disastrous for their bottom line as well as their reputation. The CEO said they couldn't get the yields up to satisfactory levels and was trying to work it out. Even with Broadcom rushing their g offering to the market they still couldn't get it on time.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Also "b" is what is being built-in to more and more devices, PDA, laptop, tablet, etc. and some kinds of connections (usb, SD card, CF card(?)) are "b" only not "a."

So "b" is the safest choice, "g" might be worth the extra cost if you need the speed, and "a" is being pushed aside and losing traction to "g."

 

[merlocka]

Originally posted by: Doggiedog
Well, I know. I heard it from the horse's mouth meaning the CEO's last week at a conference.

I know the company very well as I've followed them for years as a stock analyst.

Dug this up. As the leading manufacturer of 802.11b chips, it was in Intersil's best interests to get the IEEE to approve the g standard since it is backwards compatible.

A company like Intersil would want to take the time to make sure a chip is done correctly because a recall would be disastrous for their bottom line as well as their reputation. The CEO said they couldn't get the yields up to satisfactory levels and was trying to work it out. Even with Broadcom rushing their g offering to the market they still couldn't get it on time.

This all sounds great but Linksys is shipping today, with Broadcom, at $69, and a few people I've spoke to indicate the cards are working well.

 

[Eug]

The Apple 802.11g wireless base station is shipping in a couple of weeks. 802.11g, 802.11b, and a USB printer port, for $299.

And the new Mac laptops ALREADY have 802.11g cards. Built-in the high-end model, and $99 for the low-end model (internal). They ship by the end of the month.

Once the specification is 100% finalized, both the base station and the cards will just need a firmware flash if there are any changes.

As far as I'm concerned, 802.11a was dead before it even got off the ground. The fact that it is not 802.11b compatible is the nail in the coffin, since 802.11b is the de facto standard.

 

[Doggiedog]

Well, I've heard the opposite. I hear there are some problems with the initial g stuff and that a firmware upgrade will be necessary.

BTW, I personally don't think there is anything wrong with Broadcom stuff. It's always that initial early adopter thing that gets me. I'd rather have someone else figure out the problems before I buy it. I am in the market for a wireless router now and will probably go with a g system, Broadcom or not.

 

[merlocka]

Originally posted by: Doggiedog
Well, I've heard the opposite. I hear there are some problems with the initial g stuff and that a firmware upgrade will be necessary.

BTW, I personally don't think there is anything wrong with Broadcom stuff. It's always that initial early adopter thing that gets me. I'd rather have someone else figure out the problems before I buy it. I am in the market for a wireless router now and will probably go with a g system, Broadcom or not.

Agreed, and although some initial reviews of the Linksys cards indicate there are a few issues to be worked out, I've never owned a Linksys product which I didn't expect to flash after I bought it

 

[cmdrdredd]

Apple's new Airport Extreme is fully compatable with the G and B flavors.

 

[OldSpooky]

I think G will take over by virtue of is backward compatability-ness. I don't know much about the standards, but even if A is better than G, the backwards compat will make it rule, just like x86 won over 68K...