The Infrared Data Association Approves High Speed Extension to IrDA Increasing Current Transmission Rates Four-Fold.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 31, 1999--

New High Speed Specification Targets Digital Appliances,

Notebook and Desktop PCs

The Infrared Data Association (IrDA) announced today that it has approved a high-speed specification that allows transmission rates of up to 16 Mb/s that represents a four-fold increase in speed from the previous maximum data rate of 4 Mb/s.

Called VFIR (Very Fast IR), this extension brings end-users faster throughput without an increase in cost and is backward compatible with equipment employing the current data rate.

VFIR is the lowest cost and highest speed "cableless" technology available today and is well suited for use in digital cameras, scanners, portable storage devices, LANs, notebooks, desktops and Windows CE devices.

"With this high speed extension, IrDA delivers again on its promise of convenient, cordless connectivity at the lowest cost," said Ray Chock, director of solutions engineering at Calibre Inc., and convener of the IrDA high-speed work group.

"As the file sizes of digital images increase to more than 500 kilobytes per picture for one plus megapixel image sensors, the time it takes to transfer these files will become intolerable to our end-users. The 16 MB/s extension allows digital camera users to download the entire contents of the camera in the same amount of time it takes to change a roll of film -- less than 20 seconds -- matching the experience of film cameras."

"Approval of the VFIR specification was completed in a record 9 months -- a first in IrDA's history," said Mike Watson, president of the IrDA Board. "This was achieved through close collaboration by Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Sharp and the workgroup who were dedicated to meeting both market and user demands for this high speed extension."

"This extension just added another great reason for end-users to demand the IrDA feature on every digital device they purchase," said Brian Ingham, marketing chair for IrDA. "IrDA was designed from the beginning for ease-of-use, and now it is also very fast."

"Hewlett Packard has demonstrated a major commitment to Ir and has implemented SIR(115kbps), FIR(4mbps) in millions of printers, laptops, and handheld devices. Numerous HP product divisions are in the process of implementing HP's JetSend Communication Strategy with intentions of utilizing the new VFIR(16mbs)IrDA standard, as soon as it becomes available," said Darrell D. Simms, Wireless Evangelist for HP Information Appliance Division and convenor of HP-wide IR Steering Group.

The new standard is based on a joint proposal from Hewlett-Packard Company, IBM Corporation, and Sharp Corporation and incorporates several new features.

Key Features

VFIR features a 16Mb/s Data Rate that is fully backward compatible with previous implementations of IrDA, with reduced latency of 100 microseconds. Link Distance (same as previous versions of IrDA) -- 1 meter minimum and +/-15 degree field of view.

Encoding -- HHH(1,13) with scrambling that optimizes encoding efficiency, duty cycle and duty cycle variation, and reduced receiver latency of 100 microseconds for higher throughput. Minor changes in the IrDA IrLAP protocol include defining a new data rate bit for 16 Mb/s and increased window size from 7 to 127 (optional).

Products Supporting the VFIR Specification

Optical components that support the VFIR specification have been demonstrated by the Hewlett Packard Company and Sharp Corporation at link distances over one meter using commercially available LEDs. Optical transceivers are expected to be available by the end of 1999. The price for a 16 Mb/s implementation is targeted at less than $5.00 making it the highest bandwidth and lowest cost cordless technology.

With the standardization of the 16 Mb/s specification, Microsoft plans to support VFIR in the next version of the Microsoft Windows 2000 operating system. This will enhance the VFIR adoption in desktop PC and notebook for applications that require faster throughput such as LAN access and port replication.

Along with VFIR, Microsoft also plans to support the image transfer protocol supported by IrDA called IrTran-P. Combining high-speed and imaging support over IrDA in Windows 2000 is a powerful enabler for the growing number of high-resolution handheld imaging products, such as digital cameras and scanners.

IrDA is a non-profit corporation established in 1993 and headed by a board of directors with a membership of over 160 companies representing PC's, telecommunications hardware, software, components, and adapter markets. The association focuses on providing IR standards to ensure the quality and interoperability of the Infrared Technology.

For information, contact IrDA at 925/943-6546, Fax: [phone], email: [e-mail]. Web site: www.irda.org.