Apple's WiMax, UWB wireless interest confirmed

Thu, 05/22/2008 - 07:38 — Andy Space

Apple’s dead serious about exploring next-generation wireless technologies, including WiMax, UWB and GPS solutions. How do we know? Because the company  has been searching for an insanely great wireless and WiMax expert since November 2007. That individual will help the company develop new products that work with these next-generation wireless technologies.

This news shows Apple’s getting even more serious about WiMax and networking. In fact, the company is now looking extremely hard at all available wireless technologies, but (as we’ve been saying for some time now), the company wants to make WiMax for Macs. Why do we know this? Because Apple’s advertising for a senior RF Systems Engineer, a full time role based in Santa Clara valley. 

“The Senior Wireless system Engineer will be responsible for designing/integrating Apple wireless products, and exploring new wireless technologies. He/she will work in a technology group on next generation wireless communications products as well as the integration of wireless technology within Apple products,” the ad states.

The role demands someone to work “proactively with other cross-functional engineering groups such as industrial design, product design, EMC, antenna design, software design and test, and all of the computer system project teams.”

It’s not just WiMax, of course, its most any wireless standard. They must be familiar with RF fundamentals and test equipment, and must have knowledge about, “Bluetooth, 3G, UWB, WiMAX, GPS, Mobile TV and similar wireless technologies.”  

We know that WiMax is due wide-scale deployment worldwide this year, with wireless deployments set for Russia, Malaysia and many other countries. And while phone operators decry the standard, which they see as threatening to their colossal 3G investments, WiMax is increasingly emerging as a viable choice to bring some kind of connectivity to large land masses that lack other forms of network deployment.

Apple’s main pitch here isn’t the standards, but on the development of wireless-enabled products - and the vacancy confirms the company’s interest in all wireless standards. Specificaly, though, Apple thinks a candidate with “experience with wireless module integration into PC system or consumer products is a strong plus.”

This is a big deal job, “Additionally, the engineer must be able to interact closely with offshore engineering development and manufacturing partners. International and domestic travel is likely.”

We’re looking forward to seeing what new breeds of wireless product Apple comes up with next. 

By the way, if this is the perfect job for you, you’ll find more information about it right here...

Here's the link in full, in case this one stops working, http://jobs.apple.com/index.ajs?BID=1&method=mExternal.showJob&RID=11829&CurrentPage=1

 

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Comments

Error Message... I think

Error Message... I think they're taking it down...

 Yar - it looks like I may

 Yar - it looks like I may have done something silly to the original link. These things are sent to try us. I've redone it and it seems to work now,. Cheers.

Wouldn't job posting predate

Wouldn't job posting predate actual products by at least a couple years? I mean you don't hire staff for a product you want to release 6 months from now... you hire them for the product you're in the early stages of development on. So wouldn't apple be a bit late to the WiMax game? Rumors sugested that Apple would be putting WiMax in the MBA 6 months ago... that it'd be an option for iPhone R2, not that it'd be offered up 6 months from now... and certainly not 18-24 months from now.

 Well, you could argue that

 Well, you could argue that if this was a product development post, but this is a lead engineer - building a team which, I suspect, is involved in work in progress. If this is a lead engineer, then there will be other engineers in this sector, if there's an engineer, then there should be already a product developer, so there's an alternate notion;

We could both be right, of course - After all, we all thought iPhone was coming for 2 years before it did (though I heard a phone of some kind was developed, and close to ship around 2005/6, but the project was shelved at hour eleven). So - sure - it may not be tomorrow,...but given Intel's interest in broadening adoption of this standard, well, ...

Anyway - there is this job ad, right?

 

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