Wi-Fi Alliance(R) Certifies 3,000th Product

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wi-Fi Alliance today announced that 3,000 products have become Wi-Fi CERTIFIED(R) since March of 2000. The 3,000th product to pass the Wi-Fi Alliance's rigorous interoperability testing is the Motorola A910, a converged mobile phone featuring both GSM cellular and Wi-Fi technology.

"In just seven years, Wi-Fi has not only become a part our cultural vernacular, but also a world-leading wireless technology, used by millions of people every day. Wi-Fi is everywhere, and our growing certification count further illustrates that fact," said Wi-Fi Alliance Managing Director Frank Hanzlik.

"The fact that the 3,000th CERTIFIED product is a mobile telephone demonstrates how Wi-Fi technology has evolved and where it is headed," he added.

The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED brand is both a powerful selling tool for retailers and manufacturers, as well as a means of reducing product return rates. With more than 90 percent penetration in laptop computers and a growing presence in all forms of consumer and enterprise electronics, certification helps enable the type of pervasive connectivity that users have come to expect with Wi-Fi gear.

For converged mobile phones, which have the potential to access hundreds or even thousands of Wi-Fi networks over a device's lifetime, interoperability across Wi-Fi environments is crucial. In-Stat predicts that by 2009, more than 100 million mobile phones shipped will include Wi-Fi alongside cellular.

"We are pleased to receive Wi-Fi certification for the multi-mode Motorola A910, as it reflects the extent of innovation on our Linux(R) platform, our commitment to product quality and the interoperability we strive to include in all our products," said Tracey Koziol, vice president of GSM products, Motorola Corp. "Wi-Fi is a key component of our Seamless Mobility vision and helps enable richer mobile experiences for our customers."

A recent study conducted by Wi-Fi Alliance and Kelton Research revealed that consumers overwhelmingly opt for Wi-Fi CERTIFIED: 88 percent reported they would be more likely to buy a Wi-Fi product that had been tested and certified by an independent third party than a similar product that had not undergone testing.

Users can find Wi-Fi CERTIFIED phones, gaming devices, cameras, laptops and more at http://www.wi-fi.org.

About the Wi-Fi Alliance

The Wi-Fi Alliance is a global, non-profit industry association of more than 275 member companies devoted to promoting the growth of wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). With the aim of enhancing the user experience for mobile wireless devices, the Wi-Fi Alliance's testing and certification programs ensure the interoperability of WLAN products based on the IEEE 802.11 specification. Since the introduction of the Wi-Fi Alliance's certification program in March 2000, more than 3,000 products have been designated as Wi-Fi CERTIFIED(R), encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services across the consumer and enterprise markets. For more information, please visit http://www.wi-fi.org.

"Wi-Fi(R), Wi-Fi Alliance(R), the Wi-Fi logo, and the Wi-Fi ZONE logo are registered trademarks of the Wi-Fi Alliance; and Wi-Fi CERTIFIED(TM), WMM(TM), WPA(TM), WPA2(TM), Wi-Fi ZONE(TM), the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo, and the Wi-Fi Alliance logo are trademarks of the Wi-Fi Alliance."

MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office. Linux is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the U.S. and other countries. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.