u-blox introduces WiFI 5/6 & Bluetooth 5 M.2 cards

u-blox is well known for its wireless modules be it WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, or cellular connectivity that are soldered unto CPU modules or boards. But the company has now introduced two M.2 cards with WiFi 5 or WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.x that work with NXP i.MX evaluation and development boards.

M2-JODY-W2 M.2 card

The M2-JODY-W2 card comes with the following features:

Connectivity
- Wi-Fi 5 1×1 SISO IEEE 802.11ac data rates up to 433 Mbit/s (PHY, MCS9), beamforming
- Supports 802.11d/e/h (DFS)/i/k/r/u/v/w/ai
- Wi-Fi 20, 40, and 80 MHz channels
- Bluetooth BR/EDR and Bluetooth low energy v5.0 supporting 2 Mbit/s
- Access point mode for up to 8 stations
- 2x u.FL antenna connectors
Host interfaces
- SDIO & UART host interfaces
- PCM interface for Bluetooth audio
Security
- Hardware encryption engines: AES and TKIP
- WPA, WAPI, WPA2, WPA3, WPS, and Easy Connect
Dimensions – M.2 Type 2230 Key E form factor
Certifications – Chipset is compliant with AEC-Q100

The card is based on the existing JODY-W2 module based on the NXP, previously Marvell, 88W8987 chipset with data rates up to 433 Mbit/s. The module requires a host processor running a Linux or Android operating system, and QNX support is in the works.

Additional information may be found on the product page.

M2-JODY-W3 M.2 card

If you need higher throughput and support for Bluetooth 5.1, u-Blox also launched the M2-JODY-W3 M.2 WiFI 6 card with the following specifications:

Connectivity
- 2×2 MIMO 802.11ax 5 GHz, beamforming up to 1.2 Gbps
- Wi-Fi concurrent dual-band 2.4 and 5 GHz
- Wi-Fi 20, 40, and 80 MHz channels
- DFS master zero-wait
- Multi-role operation: AP, STA, P2P
- Bluetooth LE physical layer (PHY) data rates up to 2 Mbit/s
- Bluetooth long-range
- Advertising extension, high duty cycle directed advertising
- Bluetooth LE isochronous channels
Host interfaces – PCIe, SDIO, high-speed UART, PCM, and I2S.
Security
- WPA3: all common methods of security and encryption
- All standard pairing, authentication, link key, and encryption operation
Dimensions – M.2 type 2230 Key E form factor
Certifications – Chipset qualified according to AEC-Q100

Again, M2-JODY-W3 M.2 card is based on the existing JODY-W3 module introduced over a year ago for automotive applications and equipped with the NXP Q9098 chip. A host system with Android or Linux is required, but there’s no mention of QNX at this time.

Visit the product page for further details.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.