Live from CeBIT: Ultra-Wideband (UWB) is here...almost

We had the chance to see two Ultra-Wideband (UWB) devices in action on the floor of CeBIT today. UWB, remember, is that Bluetooth-killer capable of up to 480Mbps at a range of 10-meters. First, those crazy cats at the Samsung booth had an UWB-modded GSM handset feeding video out wirelessly to that flat panel pictured at a rate of about 13Mbps. The video which played off the handset's MicroSD card ran smooth, though was definitely suffering from blocking -- not so much the result of UMB as the compression used to store the video. We then ran into the Freescale folks (who, we suspect are behind the Samsung demo) showing off an engineering prototype of the Belkin CableFree Hub in the Belkin booth. Using Freescale's direct sequence flava of UWB, the 720p HD video ran flawlessly off the UWB attached disk. The Belkin hub should achieve an actual transfer speed of about 75Mbps after the overhead associated with error correction and such with a range of about 10 un-walled meters. And the UWB attached mouse? Flawless, not a skip, even while the video ran over the same connection -- we're believers. The Belkin hub is expected in July (US only) for less than $200. More pics of both setups after the break.

Here's the off-the-shelf Samsung phone fitted with the UWB chipset.

The UWB rig over at Belkin. Those two black boxes left and right of the Tosh laptop are the functional, engineering prototypes serving up the peripherals.

Belkin hub mockup atop the engineering prototype.

What you can expect from the final products. One dongle per hub folks.

[MHD` @ Mar 12th 2006 6:45AM]

Really cool,

waiting for this technology..

very useful.

[GdR @ Mar 12th 2006 7:04AM]

Wow, looks good! guess when this is going to be my next gadget... can't wait to eat crackers with cheese with my favorite reporter!

[Alton Johnson @ Mar 12th 2006 8:02AM]

Check out WiQuest.com. Their prototype UWB offering seems to be tranmitting at a higher rate than the above.

RAY

[artdog @ Mar 12th 2006 8:21AM]

Hmm. Does this mean finally wireless monitors?

[Frank Rodriguez @ Mar 12th 2006 9:23AM]

So this basically means the end of that mess of wires behind my home theatre? Right? When all is said and done, we're talking the connecting of components wirelessly. So when I buy that UWB enabled HD-DVD player and UWB monitor, I just turn on and go. Right? Do they plan on using the old VHF/UHF spectrum for this?

[100 ipod movies @ Mar 12th 2006 11:24AM]

This is really outstanding! I mean really, picture having a HD-DVD/Blue-Ray player and a High definition TV...all equipped with UWB; no more nasty cable guys.

[Mugwump @ Mar 12th 2006 11:55AM]

Three cheers for the spot on reporting from CeBIT! -- Did Thomas have a bed there?

[rockintom @ Mar 12th 2006 12:51PM]

The technology sounds pretty cool, but i still like how when you plug, say, an iPod into the usb, it charges. If you transfered everything over UWB, then you would never have power... so why not kill two birds with one stone and use the usb?

[Arochone @ Mar 12th 2006 5:15PM]

I agree with rockintom...why kill the power transfer? I say, make EVERYTHING USB, from TVs to mice to your 5.1 setup, and then just make UWB dongles for it all :-P

[kaius @ Mar 13th 2006 5:54AM]

gigabytes of information flying through the air, frying us up like a steak on the barbie...

i'm sticking with my cables guys ;)

speaking of which, is this the end of THE cable guy? or are there going to be Wi-Guys?!?!

[Justin @ Mar 13th 2006 7:37AM]

10 - I guess now isn't a good time to mention all the other types of waves flying through the air... like the visible light spectrum :)

[JayHajj @ Mar 13th 2006 8:51AM]

Anyone heard anything about UWB for PC monitors?

I can't wait for a wireless (except power) computer
With Bluetooth, we have the keyboard, mouse, printer and speakers(a2dp soon) & 802.11(x) for network. With a UWB monitor, it would be complete!

Either that or a standardization of power from the PC over the monitor cord.

[Walt @ Mar 13th 2006 2:07PM]

USB & Power - get a clue. You could never pass that much data to have multiple HDTV via USB. That is why there is UWB in the first place. It is designed to move vast, vast amount of data over a short distance with minimal power. Freescale is working with Bluetooth as well as USB so we can all have compatiblity with legacy devices but move forward with HD video in large and portable devices

[Jerry Ramos @ Dec 4th 2006 8:51PM]

Is this available already? Will it really be over $200.00 or is that the suggested retail price? Where can I get one of these?