Not really digging the $800 price-tag set to be placed on the 3G Motorola XOOM tablet? Help may be on the way. A recent filing shows that the FCC is testing a “wireless tablet with embedded WLAN” manufactured by Motorola. Now, there’s no way to know exactly what this is… but our money is on a Wi-Fi only XOOM. The tablet in question, being referred to as the IHDP56LU1 in documentation, is only having its Bluetooth and Wi-Fi a/b/g/n chipsets tested — there was no mention of a cellular radio anywhere. Hopefully, with wireless carriers out of the picture, Moto can get a little more agressive with the pricing.

[Via Wireless Goodness]

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It looks as though the worldly Samsung Galaxy S will be one of the very first smartphones to be knighted by the Wi-Fi Alliance as Wi-Fi Direct certified. Wi-Fi Direct is a newly minted protocol that will allow enabled electronics to make device-to-device connections with the speed, range, and throughput of 802.11b/g/n. Samsung’s generic GT-I9000 is now listed on the Wi-Fi Alliance’s site as a Wi-Fi Direct compatible device.

As a note, any Wi-Fi enabled device can gain Wi-Fi Direct certification by implementing an approved software/firmware update; no additional hardware is needed for the protocol. Now, in regards to when Sammy will actually roll-out this approved code to GT-I9000 handsets… that’s anyone’s guess.

[Via Engadget]

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The Wi-Fi Alliance and the Wireless Gigabit Alliance have been working diligently on the next generation of high-speed, consumer Wi-Fi…and its name is WiGig. WiGig, which will run on the 60 GHz  (yes, Gigahertz) spectrum, can reportedly reach speeds of up to 7 gigabits per second. In all likelihood the 60 GHz band will be used for short-range, extremely fast transfers within a local network, while the more familiar 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz channels (802.11 g/n) will be used for backwards compatibility, improved Wi-Fi range, and connection stability.  “We have practically all of the Wi-Fi chip manufacturers on board,” boasted WiGig Alliance President and Chairman Ali Sadri. The Alliances hope to see the new hardware in routers and computers within the next one to two years.

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Are you happy with your current Bluetooth experience, but aching to give it a little kick in the pants? Fret not because Bluetooth 3.0 is here right on schedule and it’s way faster than its predecessors. With the 802.11 radio Protocol Adaption Layer, transfer speeds can hit up to 24 megabits per second. If that isn’t impressive or means little to you, Bluetooth 2.0 transferred data at speeds of 2 to 3 megabits per second. Almost miraculously, the increase in speed doesn’t mean extra battery drain. On the contrary, Bluetooth 3.0 includes power-saving controls built in. Transferring files via Bluetooth should no longer be a burden or hassle — gone are the days of using Bluetooth file transfers as a last resort for large or bulk files. When will it become widely available? The process has already begun, but the technology really won’t be hitting consumers for another nine to twelve months. Patience, young grasshoppers.

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