SIS rejects integrated wireless approach

CHIPSET COMPANY Silicon Integrated Systems (SIS) is overcoming the difficulties these type of firms are facing by taking a different approach to peripherals and to their other semiconductor products.

The firm's computing product director Nelson Lee, started by telling us here in Messe 23 that integrating wireless functionality into the chipset itself - as Intel is preparing to do - is probably a waste of time.

Instead, SIS will offer 802.11a, b and g peripheral chips which will do the job that Intel prepares to offer with a south bridge that's possibly too far.

The cost of integrating AP and other wireless functions into a chipset and the motherboard is that the cost of doing so exceeds the cost of producing peripheral chips, such as the 160 and 162U (USB) that SIS will offer soon.

It also will start selling 150 and 151 flash memory controllers later in the year - and that's an interesting development, we think.

By the end of this month, which isn't too far away, it will be able to offer 802.11b and 802.11g semis which could, for example, be integrated into devices such as CF cards, Cardbus, mini PCI and PCI form factors, which would obviate the need for a possibly expensive chipset. µ