Infrared Communications Technology Gains Rapid Industry Acceptance
PALO ALTO, Calif. — November 8, 1993 — Hewlett-Packard Company today reported broad progress in its effort to expand the computer industry's use of infrared communications technology, which enables data to be transferred among a wide variety of PCs and PC peripherals via beams of infrared light.
HP said more than 20 companies, including Apple Computer, Acer Corp., AST Research, Fujitsu, Inc., Advanced Micro Systems, National Semiconductor and EO, Inc. have licensed its Serial Infrared (SIR) technology since June, and reported that 40 additional companies are currently in the application process.
In addition to widespread interest in SIR licenses, HP said recent industry developments are building momentum behind its objective of establishing an industry standard for low-cost, infrared communications.
During September, VLSI Technology announced it had incorporated HP's SIR interface in the design of its new Polar chip set. VLSI said it expects that set will be used in mobile PCs during 1994. The recently formed Infrared Data Association (IRDA) also voted in September to adopt HP's SIR interface as the foundation for ongoing industry-standard investigations. The IRDA now is comprised of more than 50 companies worldwide.
According to Andrew Seybold, a leading industry analyst and editor of the monthly publication, "Outlook on Mobile Computing," "as more attention is focused on mobile wireless computing, infrared will become increasingly important for in-building data transfer and handheld-tp-handheld PC communications."
Seybold said he expected many vendors to come forward with infrared support for PCs and peripherals and cited recently introduced products from Extended Systems, Boise, Idaho, as representative examples of this emerging product segment.
Janet Cole, mobile computing analyst at Dataquest, Inc., said she also expects a host of new products incorporating IR technology to reach the market during the next year.
"IR is inexpensive to implement and represents the simple solution users have been looking for to transfer data between portables and desktops, and for wireless printing from their mobile PCs," Cole said.
HP began using its SIR interface in calculators during the mid-1980s and now includes the technology in its handheld, mobile and desktop PCs, including the HP Vectra XM PC series, the industry's first desktop PCs with built-in infrared.
Hewlett-Packard Company is an international manufacturer of measurement and computation products and systems recognized for excellence in quality and support. The company's products and services are used in industry, business, engineering, science, medicine and education in approximately 110 countries. HP has 94,900 employees and had revenue of $16.4 billion in its 1992 fiscal year.
CONTACT:
Hewlett-Packard Company
Larry Sennett, 408/553-2916