[chipchen]

One of the things I was waiting for in the WWDC keynote was 802.11n.

Apple is usually first in line to introduce new wireless technology as it becomes available... but 802.11n is available from Linksys and Belkin already (well... belkin had the "PRE-N"...).

I wonder if Apple is waiting to introduce the 802.11n products with the iTunes Movie Store and new AirPort Express that does video streaming.. that'd make sense.

[mduell]

Stuck in committee. A short timeline cribbed from Wikipeida, emphasis mine:

On January 19, 2006, the IEEE 802.11n Task Group approved the Joint Proposal's specification, based on EWC's specification as the confirmed 802.11n proposal.

At the March 2006 meeting, the IEEE 802.11 Working Group sent the 802.11n Draft to its first letter ballot, which means that the 500+ 802.11 voters get to review the document and suggest bugfixes, changes and improvements.

On May 2, 2006, the IEEE 802.11 Working Group voted not to forward Draft 1.0 of the proposed 802.11n standard for a sponsor ballot. Only 46.6% voted to accept the proposal. To proceed to the next step in the IEEE process, a majority vote of 75% is required. This letter ballot also generated approximately 12000 comments -- much more than anticipated.

According to the IEEE 802.11 Working Group Project Timelines, the 802.11n standard is not due for final approval until July 2007.

[ghporter]

I doubt Apple will come out with any "N" products until long enough after the standard is settled that no "oops" addenda are likely-give it a couple of months after the final (really final) approval of the standard.

Apple tends to be more (or at least as much) standards-compliant than other producers of networking equipment, so they don't rush out with prerelease products that may not be compatible with the final standard. This is a good thing.

[Millennium]

802.11n doesn't exist yet, and it's not even all that close. The "pre-N" equipment you see on the market is based on very early drafts of the standard. It is entirely possible that the final standard will be so different from these "pre-N" cards that you won't be able to upgrade them through software alone; you'd require a whole new set of equipment.

This is not a good time for Apple to be dabbling in the market. When they can be assured of interoperability, then there will be a good opportunity for them to do stuff here. But not sooner.

[ghporter]

Millennium has been reading my posts. I try not to say the same thing too often, because I think people will think I'm a bot and not a real person. But that doesn't change the fact that everything Millennium says above is 100% accurate and timely. Until there's an "actual" N standard, every product that claims N features is a guess. Unless you're rolling in money, I recommend you not waste cash on devices that are based on guesses.