Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/4726/qualcomm-atheros-acquires-bigfoot-networking
Qualcomm Atheros Acquires Bigfoot Networking
by Jarred Walton on September 1, 2011 6:42 PM EST- Posted in
- Networking
- Qualcomm
- Laptops
- Bigfoot
It feels like just yesterday that I was finishing up the review of Bigfoot Networks' Killer Wireless-N 1102, but in fact it has been a whole three weeks. My, how time flies! We noted in the review that Bigfoot was using Atheros hardware with their own custom firmware, software, and drivers. It looks like Bigfoot has managed to attract enough attention with their efforts that Qualcomm (who already purchased Atheros earlier this year) has decided to gobble them up...er...bring them into the fold.
In a brief note on the acquisition, Qualcomm Atheros states that they believe "Bigfoot’s technology and expertise will help to deliver an enhanced end user networking experience. With Bigfoot’s technologies, Qualcomm Atheros will be able to deliver its customers with intelligent solutions for managing multiple, rich-media streams for a superior online experience across online games, streaming HD video and audio and real-time communications."
We're actually quite interested in seeing the result of this acquisition, as Bigfoot could certainly benefit from additional resources, and we'd love to see improved networking hardware on more laptops. If we get more 5GHz enabled laptops at lower prices, that will be great. Bigfoot's Killer 1102 Wireless-N chip impressed us with generally better overall performance compared to the competition, and we look forward to seeing where Qualcomm takes their expertise—Killer networking in a tablet/phone SoC, anyone?
As for existing Bigfoot Killer Ethernet and Wireless-N owners, Qualcomm Atheros will continue to support them. In other words, it's business as usual, but Bigfoot has undergone a change in office location and at some point in the future we should see the fruits of this merger.
Source: Lewis PR Correspondence