Broadcom's Chip Packs 11n, Bluetooth, and FM

"Broadcom has released the latest of its so-called combo wireless chips, this time putting single-stream 802.11n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and FM radio reception and short-range transmission into its BCM4329. These combo chips are designed to bring high-end wireless features to handsets and portable media devices by reducing chip count and overall integration costs. Chris Bergey, Broadcom's director for embedded wireless LAN, said that WiFi has moved from a smartphone requirement "into the high-end feature phone market," which led to the necessity for combination chips like the BCM4329. Feature phone is the euphemistic industry term for cellular handsets that have basic functions, but lack the computation power and flexibility of smartphones."

There was a time when it was a struggle finding a Windows Mobile device with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. These days, said devices are ubiquitous, yet almost all of them - including HTC's newest beasts, the Touch HD and MAX 4G - only go as far as 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 2.0. Enter Broadcom's newest wireless chip: it packs 802.11n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and an FM radio receiver/transmitter. Let's hope a Windows Mobile OEM takes note.