USB without wires by year's end

Wireless USB will be a great feature when it arrives. I would love to be able to use it on my ipod or pocket pc docking cradles and keep them within range of the computer but not have to cable them up to the laptop or be docked in order to use them. This may be a good option for the new Windows Mobile 5.0 pocket pc's - as rumor has it that they will no longer be able to sync over Wi-Fi.

1. USB without wires by year's end

Wireless USB took a step forward this week when the W-USB Promoters Group announced that it had completed work on the specification and that devices could become available as soon as year's end. The announcement was made at the first Wireless USB Developers Conference. The specification will now be taken over by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) for certification, compliance testing, logo licensing and marketing.

The Wireless USB Promoter Group is a league of seven vendors that includes Intel and Microsoft. The technology's backers are aiming for the plug-and-play simplicity of the current wired USB technology and will certify all products for interoperability before it allows a Wireless USB logo on the packaging. Wireless USB is based on the WiMedia MAC convergence architecture, utilizing the WiMedia Alliance's MB-OFDM ultrawideband (UWB) MAC and PHY.

For additional information on Wireless USB:
- read this InformationWeek article