Cheap Wireless for Accessories

morcheeba writes "Yet another wireless protocol for personal computers! In addition to existing 802.11 variants, bluetooth, and ultra-low-power newcomer zigbee, Cypress semiconductor is releasing a simple low latency, low cost (<$2), medium speed (200kbit/sec) protocol with USB human interface devices (HID) compatibility. Partners include Saitek (game controllers) and NMB (keyboards & mice). EETimes has an informative article."

Comments

Yet Another

[Derg]

Nail in the coffin of Bluetooth. *shrug* I'll believe it when I see it.. *cough*vapor*cough*

Re:Yet Another

[GigsVT]

connect it to your micro's serial port and that's it!

If you are lucky enough to still have one. Haven't you heard? System board people seem to think RS232 is depricated!

Re:Low cost?

[mccalli]

And how much does a Bluetooth cost nowadays? $100? $200? That's absurd.

If you're talking about buying some PC dongle at retail, then perhaps. But not the Bluetooth chipset.

I use Bluetooth every day - I send SMS messages via my bluetooth-equipped Nokia 3650 by selecting a contact's name on my Powerbook and typing the message there. I also send pictures that I've taken with the phone over to the laptop, and synchronise address book changes. It works very well, and my phone certainly didn't cost me $200.

Buying add-ons is always expensive. As the functionality makes its way into the chipset of standard boards then you'll see the computer side of things come down in cost. I know that all Apple laptops have bluetooth - I think that the new Centrino sets do too, don't they? Confirmation from a Centrino owner please?

Cheers,
Ian

Range???

[dr.Flake]

Skimming the links i didn't see anything concerning the range of this technology.

If, as the story indicates, this is to connect pc's range is everything!

But all i see is "common" peripherials nowadays connected by USB to be connected by USB without the wire thingy. (thus: add battery)

Will it make a simple network connection to my friend 6 doors away or not? If not, it doesn't add anything to the things available now.

Now multiply by 1000

[gremlins]

This is all just another way to screw us all. Think about it everything is going to get a computer chip so it can talk with everything else. Look at action figures, they used to be $6 now they got chips in them and cost $10. Soon your new clock costs $5 more and your lamp costs $3 more and your ipod costs $20 more and your toaster costs $10 more and etc. etc. etc. By the end of the year we shelling out thousands of dollars so my electric blanket can know my toast is done.

Re:802.11 vs. Bluetooth vs. newcomers

[CausticWindow]

The parent is an obvious troll, but for the clueless: power consumption is the big difference between 802.11 and Bluetooth. Low power 802.11 has been promised, but not yet delivered.