August 1, 2002

Intel unplugs AnyPoint wireless line

Intel discontinued sales last week of AnyPoint, its line of wireless home networking cards and access points for consumers, a company representative said. (full story)

My spin:I wonder what this means for other wireless vendors, like DLink, 3COM, and Netgear?

The chipmaker felt the AnyPoint line, whose focus was on ease of install and setup, was made obsolete by Microsoft's Windows XP operating system, which automatically detects and sets up wireless networks, Intel spokesman Tom Potts said.

"It didn't make sense for us to stay in the retail market given that most of our value was taken away with XP," he said. After Windows XP shipped, "we felt we were now a commodity product. Buyers are now shopping on price and form factor. That's not typically a market that Intel is interested in."

Yeah right...Windows XP does not come with wireless NIC cards or PCI cards, people STILL need to buy the hardware. I think the answer below is the real reason...

But sales also likely had something to do with the decision. Analysts said Intel's AnyPoint II 802.11b products, introduced last summer, never really got off the ground in the home networking market.

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