802 Wireless Notebook

The biggest utility of a notebook is that it is portable - using a notebook you can attend to your computing tasks even when you are traveling. But this mobility - though desirable - is not enough! You also need to connect to the outside world with your notebook - something you can achieve with a wireless notebook.

A wireless notebook gives you maximum freedom by enabling you to connect to the Net from wherever you are. The wireless fidelity networking, or Wi Fi as it is more popularly called, is a great technology meant for notebooks and other mobile devices.

A wireless notebook either comes with the wireless fidelity networking technology built into it or has a PCMCIA slot that can take a wireless notebook adapter.

The technology used in a wireless notebook conforms to the 802.11 standard that was developed by the IEEE - that is the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers - for wireless LAN - that is local are network - technology. It now has 3 forms - 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11a. At present, the 802.11b is the cheapest and the most widely used Wi Fi standard - you will find it in a wireless notebook with the Intel Centrino mobile technology. It uses the 2.4ghz spectrum and can provide up to 11 Mbps throughput. It can be used in 802.11g networks also.

The 802.11a standard is supposed to be the high-speed alternative to 802.11b but currently it is not finding favor with most wireless notebook computers, as - unlike the 802.11g standard - it does not have backward compatibility with the slower 802.11b. Using the 5ghz spectrum - which effectively means it will face lesser potential interference from other devices like cell phones and microwaves, but have a shorter range - this standard provides a throughput up to 54 Mbps.

The 802.11g standard, used by the Motorola wireless notebook adapter, provides the speed of 802.11a coupled with backward compatibility to 802.11b. Using the 2.4ghz spectrum, it can provide speeds up to 54 Mbps and can be used in 802.11b networks.

Have you seen any advertisements for a wireless notebook with Bluetooth facility? Bluetooth is another technology that is used for connecting devices like cell phones and PDA's to each other or to your notebook. But, it has a relatively shorter range and slower speed.

Enjoy true mobility with a wireless notebook!