Evaluate NXP’s wireless SoC capabilities with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth expansion cards

A set of Wi-Fi 5, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth expansion cards from u-blox enable designers to try out the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities of NXP Semiconductor’s wireless SoCs. The Wi-Fi and Bluetooth expansion cards plug into NXP’s i.MX processor evaluation kits. The cards, conforming to the M.2 form factor, integrate u-blox modules powered by the wireless SoCs from NXP.

M2-JODY-W3 card (Source: u-blox) Click for a larger image.

“These new cards from u-blox leverage our highly integrated 88W8987 and 88Q9098 Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth chipsets and easily plug into the M.2 sockets of our i.MX evaluation and development kits, making it significantly easier for developers to explore the many wireless connectivity possibilities enabled by their modules,” said Jay White, NXP’s senior marketing manager of Mass Market for Wi-Fi Solutions, in a statement.

u-blox is launching two wireless-connectivity cards based on its JODY modules. The cards are built to the M.2 Type 2230 Key E form factor. The M2-JODY-W3 card includes a u-blox JODY-W3 Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 module. The module’s NXP 88Q9098 chipset supports IEEE 802.11ax and dual-mode Bluetooth 5.1 Classic, Low Energy (LE), and long-range option. It runs concurrent dual-band Wi-Fi 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz networks using dual MACs, and a 2 × 2 MIMO antenna set-up in each band.

The M2-JODY-M3 card supports simultaneous operation of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The Wi-Fi functionality includes simultaneous access point, station, or Wi-Fi Direct modes.

M2-JODY-W3 (Source: u-blox) Click for a larger image.

The M2-JODY-W2 card features a u-blox JODY-W2 Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5 module, which uses the NXP 88W8987 chipset to support IEEE 802.11ac and Bluetooth/Bluetooth LE 5. The card supports dual-band Wi-Fi to the 802.11a/b/g/n/ac standards.

The M2-JODY-W2 is capable of dual-port simultaneous operation of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Wi-Fi functionality also includes simultaneous access point, station, or Wi-Fi Direct modes like the W3 card.

Use cases for these new cards with NXP i.MX evaluation kits and embedded systems boards built by NXP partners include industrial automation, vehicle navigation and telematics, in-vehicle infotainment and hands-free audio, remote diagnostics and patient monitoring, security cameras, and payment terminals.

To use the M2-JODY-W3 and M2-JODY-W2 cards with legacy evaluation boards that do not have an M.2 socket, u-blox offers a microSD-to-M.2 adapter that connects to a standard microSD socket, or a microSD-to-SD adapter for boards with a standard SD socket.