Ultra Wideband Hub Coming in October

Dhiram writes "Japan based Y-E Data Inc. has announced the development of the "Wireless Hub" based on UWB (ultra wideband) wireless technology. It is the first UWB commercial application announced. The Wireless Hub mounts a UWB wireless communication module, as well as four USB ports. It comes with a USB dongle with UWB connectivity which connects to the PC. Other USB peripherals can be connected to the wireless hub, which then connects to the PC through UWB and has an effective data rate of 100 mbps over a 10-m distance without obstacles."

Comments

Not so sure about how useful this is going to be.

[Bumjubeo]

10m, with no obstacles? What would the use for this be?

Re:Not so sure about how useful this is going to b

[jimstapleton]

many non-metallic/stone obstacles won't cause much of a hinderance I suspect. Stille, a 20 meter radius isn't so bad, that's enough to cover many houses except for a couple corners. The question is: how much falloff is there past that range? how much falloff is there due to various types of blocking materials (plaster, metal pipes, wrapping paper [hey, it actually interfears with my 802.11g router, there was some stored in a closet between my notebook and the router - removing it, even though it was replced by cloths, increased signal strength], etc).

Re:Not so sure about how useful this is going to b

[CaymanIslandCarpedie]

Say you have a PC under your desk. Instead of having a USB cable to the printer, a USB cable to an external HD, a USB cable to etc. You just have a simple USB dongle on you PC which then wireless commnunicates with all your USB devices. Less wires!

Wireless is NOT better!

[JPFitting]

I understand the desire for less clutter as I am an audio technician, producer, vj, and dj. I have wires going EVERYWHERE in my studio. It is frustrating at times, but I am used to it. What is the big deal here? When I need USB connectivity to go 10m, I run extenders along the carpet. You ultimately are not going to get rid of all the wires; i.e. monitor cable, power cables, etc. Ugh, what we will buy into for convience that is inferior in quality.

You guys are missing the point.

[Puls4r]

Wireless. Docking. Station. Walk in with your laptop and drop it anywhere in the room and you're done. The only missing piece is the video....and I'm sure that solution is coming - wireless video.

security

[brenddie]

And how secure is the connection? I guess up to this point it would be easier to just physically plug and snoop around (you are already 10m from the pc), but once the range improves, is it going to be another WEP nigthmare? Will people wardrive looking for wireless usb printers to print goatse ?

Maybee you can bridge two computers trough wireless usb, that would be fun, a mesh on interconnected PCs via wireless usb.

No indication that this is CERTIFIED Wireless USB

[joconor]

This product is a UWB Wireless USB Hub, but I don't see any indication on the web site that this product complies with Certified Wireless USB.
There has been a long running battle between two opposing UWB groups that each have incompatible UWB implementations. If you're going to get any Wireless USB products, make sure to look for the product's compliance to "Certified Wireless USB". More information at Certified Wireless USB. Certified Wireless USB is built on top of the WiMedia UWB standard. The WiMedia UWB platform is an ECMA standard, and certification by other standards bodies has been in the works.
Disclaimer: Until this past April, I worked for one of the Certified Wireless USB developers & promoters, and I was deeply involved in this standardization effort.

Re:Not so sure about how useful this is going to b

[CaymanIslandCarpedie]

In theory we have Bluetooth, put I don't think I've ever seen a Bluetooth printer, camera, or well just about anything. However, there is certainly tons of USB stuff (just about everything seems to ship with USB support). Plus you can use the stuff you already have instead of dropping cash to go buy a bunch of new stuff that supports Bluetooth (even if it existed). Just plug the dongle in you PC, plug your existing devices into the hub, and away you go.

Re:Not so sure about how useful this is going to b

[erpbridge]

Not all cables... power cabling still there, unless you use tons of batteries.

Now wireless power... or inductive power, where the whole countertop is a power loop...

Without USB video, it's nearly useless

[billstewart]

If you're trying to do a docking station, and you need to plug in a monitor cable and the USB wireless dongle, you can just as well plug in a monitor cable and a real wired USB-hub cable. And if you're trying to reduce tangle for connections from your under-the-desk PC to your desktop peripherals, you still need a cable for the monitor, so why not run one more USB cable to a wired hub on the desktop (especially if it lets you use a non-powered hub on the desktop, avoiding the need for a power-cord for the UWB USB hub.)

Except for a few specific removable devices, like cameras and iPods, and the usual keyboard and mouse that have other wireless solutions, most of the applications people have discussed really belong to be on LAN connections, not USB connections. Printers belong on LANs. USB isn't made for sharing peripherals, so if you're trying to share a disk drive, it needs to be associated with a computer, and you can use a wireless LAN to reach the computer.