Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Donny Jackson

Florida-based startup xG Technology recently announced its completion of the manual assembly for its TX60 handsets by Cambridge Consultants, setting the stage for mass production of the mobile voice-over-IP (VoIP) devices by early next year.

The TX60 is a “small-footprint phone with some nice design features,” including operation on xG's proprietary xMAX networks and Wi-Fi networks, said Rick Mooers, chairman and CEO. Company officials believe the TX60 is a significant upgrade to the company's previous handset designs, which were much larger.

Meanwhile, xG Technology's second-generation BSN 250 base stations that will work with the TX60 handsets are expected to be operational by mid-November, said Joe Bobier, president of operations and CTO. Territorial customers who purchased xG's first-generation mapping base stations will receive the second-generation base stations at no additional cost, Mooers said.

When the base stations are deployed and used with a limited number of TX60 handsets late this year, xG Technology officials hope that tests confirm that the system meets 4G parameters, Mooers said.

The xMAX technology developed by Bobier and xG's engineering team has been a source of controversy within the wireless industry, with critics arguing that the company's claims of very low-power, long-range, high-throughput data transmissions are not physically possible. While xG had hoped to unveil a voice-only mobile network last fall, the company instead decided to focus on delivering full-featured voice and data mobile networks that would better rival the 3G offerings available today.

Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2009 Penton Media, Inc.