SAN FRANCISCO--At Computex this week, Marvell Technology Group Ltd. announced its version of an 802.11ac combination radio chip with both near field communications (NFC) and Bluetooth 4.0.
The Avastar 88W8897 is described as a 2x2 combination radio chip which also sports mobile multiple input multiple output (MIMO), transmit beamforming and support for the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast audio and video streaming technology(once it becomes available).
Miracast lets users stream between devices from their ultrabook or tablet to the big screen in HD (at 5 GHz), while simultaneously surfing the Internet without losing the connection in 2.4 GHz. Will Strauss of Forward Concepts called it the most important "potential" feature in the combination.
The chip seems to have been designed specifically with ultrabooks, tablets, gaming consoles and smart TVs in mind, and is also the first 802.11ac enabled chip to offer NFC, which allows contactless payment amongst other things.
Using the new 802.11ac means the 88W8897 chip should also be able to deliver up to 867 Mbps of throughput, for much smoother streaming, downloading and uploading.
