SkyMat Unveils Converged iMAT Antenna With WiFi And Bluetooth In One

One of the features of a netbook that is both good and bad is the small size of the device. The small size makes the netbook very portable and lightweight, but the size means there is very limited space for batteries and features requiring hardware. SkyCross has unveiled a new iMAT antenna that combines Bluetooth and WiFi into one module saving significantly on space.

Many netbooks use a separate WiFi and Bluetooth antenna taking up space that could be used for other features like 3G modem cards. The iMAT antenna supports 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth operating at 2.4GHz. The antenna has 35 dB of isolation between the WiFi and Bluetooth antennas to allow them to operate at the same time.

The integrated solution also means that users can utilize Bluetooth and WiFi at the same time. With some netbooks on the market today activating Bluetooth means that you have to turn off WiFi and vice versa. SkyCross also claims that the iMAT antenna reduces the number of antennas in a machine by a factor of three. There is no word on when the device will turn up in netbooks and notebooks on the market.