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Wireless USB set to take-off - 480Mbit/s over 10 feet.

by Tarinder Sandhu on 7 January 2008, 17:44

Tags: Belkin

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There are a whole heap of wireless technologies that battle for supremacy in various spaces, ranging from WiMAX through to venerable infrared. Recently added to this long line was wireless USB.

Based on WiMedia's ultrawideband (UWB) radio protocol, the technology promises a USB2.0-like maximum transfer rate (480Mbit/s) over 3m (10ft) and 100Mbit/s over 10m (30ft).

Visiting the promoting group's booth at the pre-CES show, we met representatives who were keen to stress that wireless USB is designed as a complementing, but distinct, technology to the various flavours of WiFi.

Fitting in between the gap that's currently present between WiFi and Bluetooth, wireless USB will have its specific uses, we reckon.

We're now beginning to see a range of WUSB products trickle into the market, headlined by the high-profile names you'd expect.



Here's a Belkin four-port WUSB hub and receiving dongle. Rather than drag wires to your PC, the hub allows remote connectivity for a cleaner setup, or so the blurb goes.

The real bonus would be to have the receiving dongle built right into a laptop - as with WiFi today - with the hub and USB-based peripherals located, say, 10 feet away.

This Belkin kit currently retails at $99.


Here's a similar bundle from D-Link.

All HEXUS CES 2008 content



HEXUS Forums :: 6 Comments

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Isn't this what bluetooth was meant to be - Awireless replacement for USB ?
i was hoping it would use some sort of induction and be powered wirelessly too :(
i don't think bluetooth was suppose to replace wifi because i think bluetooth doesn't have the speed or the range of wifi

and i think wifi is more power hungry than bluetooth?
wrong way round usxhe190, mikerr was saying he though bluetooth was supposed to replace usb :)

But you are right, bluetooth has never been fast enough to replace USB, and i think it still uses less power than these wireless USB systems.
Bluetooth as i understand it and have been taught was designed to provide a personal area network, the idea was within very short distances to connect a multitude of devices together easily. Which it does quite well. Pretty sure speed was not a design consideration of bluetooth. As for this news article this is really interesting especially the wireless hub idea. I'd like to see mp3 players and perhaps even external hard drives with this built in, no more connecting to get at files!