Was wireless USB worth the wait?

Computerworld did a review of a few wireless USB (WUSB) adapters that are currently being sold. For the uninitiated, WUSB is the wireless cousin of the more than a decade old wired USB standard. WUSB leverages ultrawide band technology to wirelessly move a good amount of data over short distances without interfering with the other wireless gear such as mobile phones, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi devices. In short, WUSB was designed as a replacement for wired USB.

I read through the review, and while WUSB is relatively nascent, the performance of the various WUSB hubs and adapters is robust. Pairing is also child's play compared to Bluetooth. If you were expecting wired USB speeds however, do note that performance tends to be lower, averaging between 25Mbps to 27Mbps at a distance of about 5 feet. This is about one-quarter the speed compared its cabled counterpart.

WUSB seems to work well as a replacement for wired USB, though it is unfortunate that few laptops or desktops have WUSB built-in at this point. This makes it necessary to purchase receiver and transmitter units as a set, which not only brings up the cost, but forces users to plug in an additional devices to laptops or desktops.

To read more on the article:
- check out this article from Computerworld

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