Nintendo DS 802.11 Wireless attachment ships
by Kit

Friday, October 8 2004

Nintendo DS to follow in November.

RF Micro Devices, Inc. today announced that they've begun production shipments of the 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN) transceivers that will be used in the Nintendo DS.

This is the component that makes all that wireless fun possible, including the embedded PictoChat software that allows messages and drawings to be sent between DS units in range.

"RFMD's energy-efficient wireless device enables Nintendo to include wireless technology in the Nintendo DS handheld at a low cost," said Satoru Okada, general manager, research and engineering at Nintendo Co., Ltd. "The embedded wireless functionality will enable developers to create rich game designs which were not considered possible in the past, further expanding the fascinating world of Nintendo DS."

Kris Rausch, product line director of wireless LAN products at RF Micro Devices, commented, "We are extremely excited to be working with Nintendo, the world's leading name in the gaming industry. Additionally, we are pleased to build upon the success of our WLAN transceiver products, which offer distinct advantages in bill of materials (BOM) cost, size, performance and power consumption. These competitive advantages are driving incremental customer traction as an increasing number of electronic devices are being designed to capitalize on consumer demand for wireless connectivity."

--- Kit