Atmel's WLAN Technology Integrated in Wi-Fi Enabled Print Server from HP

November 5, 2003- Atmel® Corporation announced that a custom wireless local area network (WLAN) module design, based on Atmel's USB 802.11b Media Access Controller, was released to production by HP® to provide a Wi-Fi® enabled print server. The HP Jetdirect® 380x print server helps enable sharing of a broad range of network-capable HP printers and multi-function peripherals across 802.11b wireless networks. The Atmel design, done specifically for HP, utilizes the RF Micro Devices®, Inc. radio front end and is one of the highest performing USB 802.11b module solutions available today.

Printers use either a USB or parallel interface to connect directly to a PC. For printers that do not have an Ethernet port, the HP Jetdirect 380x 802.11b wireless print server may be used to provide a connection from the printer's USB interface to the Local Area Network (LAN). The HP Jetdirect 380x print server is designed to provide wireless network connectivity, facilitating the choice of printer location without the use of wires.

This design win represents Atmel's second embedded Wi-Fi design win at HP. The first design win, announced November 18, 2002 was for an embedded USB module into the HP iPAQ^TM Pocket PC H5400 series.

By offering complete WLAN designs, Atmel helps to enable customers to reduce costs, accelerate time-to-market and improve key performance metrics, such as receiver sensitivity, throughput and range versus leading competitive solutions. Atmel offers USB, Mini-PCI, PCMCIA, CompactFlash® and Access Point reference designs developed to be a low-cost, complete solutions to meet Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11b) specifications. Complete reference designs centered on the Atmel's Media Access Controller (MAC) and MAC plus baseband controller includes firmware, software, WHQL qualified drivers, Wi-Fi certification, and utilities for regulatory certifications and production.