Stylish Eee PC S101 Offers Higher Performance with Reliable 11n Wi-Fi(R) Connectivity

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Dec. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Atheros Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATHR), a leading developer of advanced semiconductor system solutions for wireless and wired communications, today announced that Asus, a pioneer and global leader in the Netbook category, has enhanced its Eee PC(TM) series with Atheros XSPAN 802.11n technology. XSPAN is delivering a new level of wireless networking to Asus' popular, ultra-slim and stylish Netbooks with its market-leading 11n throughput and extended coverage. The Eee PC S101 is the first Asus Netbook to feature XSPAN 11n technology -- following the successful launch of the premiere Eee PC 701 with Atheros 802.11g -- offering consumers unmatched throughput and range for faster downloads, greater reliability and enhanced power-efficiency over legacy Wi-Fi.

The Asus Eee PC S101 features Atheros' AR9281 single-chip, single-band 1x2 MIMO-enabled PCI Express(TM) (PCIe) design, which is employed by eight of the top twelve PC manufacturers -- for the exceptional performance and value it delivers. The AR9281 provides up to 150 Mbps in transmit mode and up to 300 Mbps PHY rates in receive mode. XSPAN helps extend Netbook battery life with its advanced power-saving techniques such as Atheros Dynamic MIMO Power Save (DMPS) and Unscheduled Automatic Power Save Delivery (UAPSD). Additionally, the higher throughput offered by XSPAN enables faster Wi-Fi transfers to reduce power consumption. In combination with the Asus S101's other system power-saving features, the Netbook delivers a remarkable five hours of operation between charges. These benefits along with the S101's stylish, ultraportable design are leading to the extreme popularity of Asus Netbooks.

In addition to Atheros XSPAN, the Asus Eee PC S101 also features Atheros ETHOS(TM) Ethernet technology. The S101 employs the industry's smallest, most-integrated Fast Ethernet controller featuring the lowest external component count. Despite its compact footprint and high-level integration, it delivers market-leading Fast Ethernet performance, power savings and value.

According to In-Stat research firm, the mini-notebook (Netbook) market is expected to grow rapidly to nearly 41 million by 2012, at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 75% from 2008 to 2012.(1) "The mini-notebook category with its attractive pricing and Web-focused applications has very broad user appeal," said Victoria Fodale, Senior Analyst at In-Stat. "Embedding 802.11n technology will deliver even higher performance and reliability that is essential for these new on-the-go media devices, which are almost always connected to the Internet."

"Asus is pleased to team with Atheros to bring high performance 11n technology to our Eee PC series of Netbooks," said SY Shian, General Manager of Asus' EPC Business Unit. "With Atheros' single-chip XSPAN solution, our new S101 platform of Netbooks offers superior connectivity, faster downloads of data and multimedia applications, and enhanced power-efficiency over previous models."

The AR9281 is the most integrated and compact MIMO-enabled, 802.11n single-chip solution in the market today. It is available in a half-Mini Card form factor to provide PC OEMs with enhanced flexibility to develop ultra-compact notebooks or embed additional Mini Cards with complementary technologies. The AR9281 is also optimized for low power consumption with Atheros' innovative power-saving protocols, algorithms and circuit design techniques to extend battery life in PCs.

"We are pleased that Atheros XSPAN single-chip technology has been selected by Asus to enhance the wireless connectivity in its advanced line of Eee PC Netbooks," said Ben Naskar, vice president, Wireless Networking Business Unit, Atheros. "Asus is a pioneer in mobile computing design with its sleek form factors, user-friendly ergonomics and advanced features, and the company's decision to offer Atheros' 11n performance in its new stylish Netbooks will reinforce its leadership position."

XSPAN is the world's most widely adopted 802.11n technology, enabling a broad ecosystem of highest performance wireless products. It is the 11n technology of choice for the majority of the world's enterprise networking manufacturers and occupies a dominant position in the retail and carrier networking, and PC markets.

Atheros' XSPAN family supports Windows XP(R), Windows Vista(R), Mac OS(R) and Linux(R) operating systems. XSPAN solutions include support for industry standards WMM(R) (Wi-Fi Multimedia(TM)), Wi-Fi Protected Setup(TM) via Atheros' JumpStart for Wireless(TM), the company's industry standardized simple network configuration software, and is compliant with Cisco Compatible Extensions (CCX).

For more information about the Asus S101 Netbooks, please visit www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=24&l2=164&l3=0&l4=0&model=2595&modelmenu=1.

(1) In-Stat, December 2008

About Atheros Communications, Inc.

Atheros Communications is a leading developer of semiconductor system solutions for wireless and wired communications products. Atheros combines its wireless and networking systems expertise with high-performance radio frequency (RF), mixed signal and digital semiconductor design skills to provide highly integrated chipsets that are manufactured on low-cost, standard complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) processes. Atheros technology is used by a broad base of leading customers, including personal computer, networking equipment and consumer device manufacturers. For more information, please visit http://www.atheros.com or send email to info@atheros.com.

Atheros, the Atheros logo, XSPAN, ETHOS and JumpStart for Wireless are trademarks of Atheros Communications, Inc.. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the sole property of their respective owners.

Source: Atheros