IBM, National Semi Team Up On Residential GatewaysIBM, National Semi Team Up On Residential Gateways

IBM and chipmaker National Semiconductor Corp. are planning to integrate their hardware and software for use in residential gateways that would let businesses and consumers wirelessly manage electronic household appliances and utility usage. The companies say the joint technology will be widely available in August, with pricing to be divulged at that time.

IBM and National are counting on home-networking technology having an impact beyond the household functionality of Internet appliances such as 3Com Corp.'s discontinued Audrey. "Residential gateways can also be a bit of a server in the home, making it easier for corporations to extend information to employees at home," says Jon Prial, director of marketing and strategy for IBM pervasive computing. Prial also says residential gateways let utilities monitor power usage.

IBM's Java-based WebSphere software and National Semiconductor's Geode 32-bit Pentium processor form a base residential gateway technology that manufacturers can customize by adding a variety of applications, Prial says. C.P. Technology Co. Ltd., a Taiwanese manufacturer of home-networking technology, has purchased the package and plans to use it for its Power IA Smarthome UB2100 residential gateway. Shanghai General Electronics Group, a home-electronics manufacturer and retailer in China, has committed to selling the C.P. Technology gateway to consumers.

The joint product-development and marketing abilities of IBM and National Semiconductor will play a major role in promoting U.S. adoption of home networking, says Walter Miao, an analyst with Probe Research. National had early wins providing processors for Internet appliances from 3Com and Honeywell, but the products were discontinued because they were too limited in their functionality, Miao says. "IBM has depth and sufficient visibility to attract specialty service providers, such as home-entertainment and online game providers, and come up with a family of applications that satisfy household needs."