Eleven companies have got together to propose a standard for integrated communications for mobile computing, based around the eight-year-old PCI format. Mini PCI targets the new generation of small form factor products such as notebook PCs, docking stations and printers, and has been submitted to the PCI Special Interest Group steering committee in Seattle. The backers are 3Com Corp, AMP Inc, Compaq Computer Corp, Dell Computer Corp, Gateway, Hitachi PC Corp, IBM Corp, Micron Electronics Inc, Mobility Electronics Inc, Toshiba Corp and Xircom Inc. The new specification, the result of a year’s work, defines a daughter card sized at 2.75 by 1.81 by 0.22 inches that is functionally equivalent to a standard PCI expansion card. It has been developed specifically for integrated communications peripherals such as modems and network interface cards.
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