With Apple In The Wireless Lead, Dell And IBM Play For Second Place

When Apple Computer announced wireless connectivity for the iBook series over a year ago, the rest of the market lagged well behing the new initiative. Appleis Airport wireless system was the first to deliver wireless networking built into a laptop.

On September 7, C|Net acknowledged what the rest of the world has known for some time- competitors Dell and IBM are currently participating in a race not unlike that of chasing Tiger Woods in a major golf championship. Even though Dell has managed to make inroads into the Apple education market, they are, according to C-Net report by Joe Wilcox, Dell and IBM are both trying to achieve what Apple has already had for more than a year, relegating them to second place.

"Which company gets bragging rights is a matter of point of view. Dell isnit expected to offer the wireless LAN component until the mid- to late fourth quarter. Apple has offered integrated wireless on portables and other Macs for more than a year."

Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney is quoted in the report as saying "Apple already has an internal wireless LAN, so this (IBM and Dell achieving wireless in notebooks) is only meeting what they (Apple) already have."

C-Netis article goes into depth on the subject of wireless networking, and reveals just how competitive the education market has become since Appleis timely resurgence.