MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo Sports 802.11n Wireless Capability

by , 3:35 PM EST, October 31st, 2006

iFixIt's take-apart guide to the new MacBook Pro reveals that the wireless card included in the laptop offers 802.11n wireless capability, despite the fact that Mac OS X doesn't support such networking yet. The site explained in text accompanying photos of the AirPort board contained in the MacBook Pro: "The world's worst kept secret is that this is actually an 802.11n draft chipset. We're not aware of any way to get the n-functionality in OS X, but some have been successful in Boot Camp with these D-Link drivers for the D-Link DWA-645."

The site added: "Note the three antenna cables coming into the Airport board. The previous model only had two cables. The additional antenna could provide better reception, or different frequencies (802.11n uses both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) for the new wireless chipset."

Jason D. O'Grady explained in a ZDNet blog post: "The final 802.11n specification is projected to be released in December 2006 but that could slip as far back as 2008. The 802.11n spec supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies and typical data rates are expected to be 200Mbit/sec with a maximum of 540 Mbit/sec. Range is expected to be ~160 feet." He noted that the 802.11n functionality is also in the Core 2 Duo 20-inch iMac.

Many pundits expect Apple's upcoming iTV set-top device, which will ship in the first quarter of 2007, will use 802.11n in order to get around the current problems with effectively streaming video, especially high-definition content, over an 802.11g wireless connection. iTV will be able to access iTunes content, as well as photos and QuickTime movie trailers, through a host computer.