Wireless USB gets certified

WIRELESS USB will mimic the pattern set by the introduction of Bluetooth wireless technology by introducing a certification and compliance programme.

The announcement on compliance testing should be made this morning [Tuesday 26th September].

The objective is to provide both device vendors and the general public with some hope that products from different manufacturers will genuinely inter-work.

This announcement on behalf of the USB-IF (USB Implementers Forum) was made at IDF San Francisco by Intel's Jeff Ravencraft.

The hope is that as early as Q3-Q4 2006 the first fully certified and compliant products will appear on the market.

Wireless USB is mean to be Bluetooth on steroids. It will offer throughput speeds as high as 480 Mbit/s at two to three metres and 110 Mbit/s at ten metres.

Obviously the intention is that any application that will work over a wired USB connexion will work over a wireless USB connexion.

The original technical specifications were developed by the Wireless USB Promoters group but the task of ensuring conformity has now be handed over the USB-IF.

Although wireless USB support may not be included in the initial release of Vista, Ravencraft was confident that it would be offered as a standard update to Vista in a very short space of time.

The catch is, of course, that wireless USB is increasingly looking like a technology chasing a good solid purpose.

With Bluetooth now well established and considering that there are rival technologies that are even sponsored by Intel - such as Ultra Wide Band (UWB) - which can better wireless USB, why would anyone bother?

Although the maximum Bluetooth EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) is 3 Mbit/s and maximum distance for Bluetooth is 100 metres, why would you use wireless USB instead? µ