Qualcomm’s Wi-Fi Chip Could Turn Handhelds Into a TV Set-Top Box

Qualcomm launched a tri-band chip that will offer dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a fast wireless video transfer technology all on a single piece of silicon.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 capabilities have long been integrated together on a single chip, but this is the first to add support for the 60 GHz wireless frequency, which is specific to high-speed video and backed by the Wireless Gigabit Alliance. With the new chip, Qualcomm is adding the potentially final piece to the puzzle of how to best stream video content from smartphones and tablets directly to high definition television sets without interference from other wireless data protocols.