Following the formation of a consortium to develop wireless USB technology, Intel Corp. is providing more details about when a specification and the first products will arrive. The consortium, announced at February"s Intel Developer Forum conference in San Francisco, is called the Wireless USB Promoter Group. Other members include Agere Systems, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, NEC, Philips Semiconductors and Samsung Electronics.
Wireless USB (WUSB) is intended to bring data rates comparable to USB 2.0"s to tasks such as wirelessly trafficking multiple video and media streams between consumer electronics devices, PCs and peripherals. It"s been characterized as a direct competitor to the Bluetooth wireless standard, but there are big performance differences, according to Jeff Ravencraft, Intel technology strategist and USB-IF chairman.