Cables Unlimited Wireless USB kit replaces wires with dongles

Wireless USB might be heading toward the cemetery, but that doesn't mean it has expired just yet. With WUSB startup WiQuest calling it quits, the window of opportunity is wide open for rival Wisair. If you'll recall, one of the biggest hurdles WiQuest never could overcome was generating an energy-efficient one-chip solution; lo and behold, Wisair has done just that. We can't say with any level of certainty that this Wireless USB Adapter Kit contains the module we saw hit the FCC nearly a year ago, but regardless, the new set enables non-WUSB-enabled devices to still enjoy the spoils of cordless USB transfers. The $79 to $99 set contains a pair of dongles -- one for the computer, one for the device -- and the company is already planning to sell 'em individually so you can make every last USB device you own a cable-free one. Can Wisair single-handedly revive the flagging technology? Let's kick back and see, shall we?

[bob sakamano @ Nov 6th 2008 11:24AM]

nothing like a nice pair of, dongles

[crispy @ Nov 6th 2008 11:34AM]

How easy is it to intercept the signals these things send? The hacking possibilities could be enormous.

[E. Leigh @ Nov 6th 2008 11:45AM]

Because folks are really going to want to steal the "data" you call your beach vacation photos from your wireless card reader. Or better yet, they could print obscene things when you connect a dongle to your printer.

[Tarnation @ Nov 6th 2008 12:29PM]

I really could care less if they intercept some of the crap I have plugged into USB. Don't have a wireless keyboard and mouse if you need security. If I wan't a wireless printer I will buy one with a wifi or wired print server. Other than that I think this a great idea.

[Loonyx @ Nov 6th 2008 1:37PM]

wow they could steal the signal my usb mouse is sending. that would be sick. up up down down left right left right ba ba select start, i wonder what he's doing. he must be logging into his CIA account: Operation Contra!

[why not the LS2LS7? @ Nov 6th 2008 11:34AM]

These are useless. No device has an A socket on it (as pictured), so how do you plug the dongle in? Let's assume that the picture is bogus and the receiving dongle has a mini-B socket on it (as is most common). Then the problem becomes a question of how the receiving dongle is powered. The device itself does not provide power over the mini-B port, in fact it is expecting to receive power over it. So I guess the receiving dongle will have a battery in it to power itself and the device?

That's the biggest reason I think wireless USB isn't all that useful. Most USB devices don't have the capability to power themselves. The fact that USB devices can receive power from the host really helps keep the cost and size of USB devices down. And none of that will work with wireless USB.

[Jay Evans @ Nov 6th 2008 11:59AM]

so how do you plug the dongle in?

By looking at the instructions???

http://www.adambognar.com/clients/wisair/wireless_usb_cables_unlimited.html

[CommentAfterCheckingFact @ Nov 6th 2008 12:32PM]

hm... One of the dongles plugs to a base, which is powered by its power cord. The other one is powered by your computer/laptop.

how hard it is to click on the link before commenting?

[Adam @ Nov 6th 2008 12:47PM]

okay so you plug your device into a little base station which is probably externally powered... so it's not "wireless" it's "wire? less"

[why not the LS2LS7? @ Nov 6th 2008 1:02PM]

Link doesn't work for me.

And it's still useless. To avoid a small USB cable I'm going to have a 110V power cable and power supply? That's pretty much the worst-case scenario, even worse than a battery in the receiver.

[webon @ Nov 6th 2008 11:37AM]

that's very "first century" writing right there


lo and behold, Beowulf was naked!

[a ham sandwich @ Nov 6th 2008 11:46AM]

anyone else notice that the logo in that picture looks particularly close to another...er....widely known one?

[scape @ Nov 6th 2008 11:48AM]

+1 to why not the LS2LS7?

But also, who really needs this? It just seems useless when 90% of the usb items a person may use (camera, music device, portable storage) would be within reach of the computer your using it with. This only replaces multiple cables with multiple dongles, and damn that just sounds weird...

[rcappo @ Nov 7th 2008 10:09AM]

I need this. My computer room is above my garage. I don't want to run cable from the upstairs to the downstairs. I will have an iPod touch built into my truck and it will use this method to connect to my Mac OS X/iTunes to sync, hopefully... It beats having to plug in and disconnect another cable each time I go someplace.

[dhughes @ Nov 6th 2008 12:13PM]

It would be interesting to have wireless data transfer between USB thumbdrives (solar cell on them for power?). That sure would make it easy to file share, maybe put a slider on it like SD disks to protect it.

[Oli D @ Nov 6th 2008 12:29PM]

where does the juice come from...?

[thethirdmoose @ Nov 6th 2008 12:49PM]

No one is going to pay $80-$100 to get rid of a couple USB cables...

[BJ is Gooder @ Nov 6th 2008 12:59PM]

Is that thing made by the Xbox team?

[bangladeshiluv @ Nov 6th 2008 1:23PM]

i'd like to hook up one of these to my webcam to turn it into a spycam. HAIR PIE!

[dosguy @ Nov 6th 2008 3:56PM]

My thoughts excatly. Webcam possiblities galore!

[Kate @ Nov 6th 2008 10:28PM]

Wow, are there that many asthmatic computers out there?

[kimisawa @ Nov 6th 2008 10:32PM]

I was in the ODM company for this dongle. They are very unstable, and the concept is stupid.

on ur client dongle, it needs a power adapter (which is not showing on the above photo). Means, you get rid USB cable, but instead, you got a huge power adapter.

Not going to success for this concept.

The potential I saw is to use WUSB for home theater (or conference meeting..etc, projector needed situation). The coming model will support both video and audio streaming through WUSB. So, instead of connecting your projector with your computer through a super long audio and VGA cables, WUSB can find it useful in this case.

[Kris @ Nov 7th 2008 12:50AM]

Is it fixed in that shape?
I remember, one set of my USB ports, be it my laptop or front panel on my desktop, are upside down, do I need to cut a hole in my desk then to use this?

[JoeNES @ Nov 7th 2008 9:53AM]

This would really only be useful if you had a really specific reason for wanting something connected wirelessly, for example, a printer across the room that's too far (or too awkward) to run a cable to. The external power supply kills it, though.

[bizinit @ Nov 8th 2008 12:04AM]

I found this animation when I clicked a link in the product page their web site, which shows nicely the use case:

http://www.adambognar.com/clients/wisair/wireless_usb_cables_unlimited.html

I hate the fact that my MFC stands on my desk. This set seems to allow placing peripherals anywhere in the room not limited by the USB cable length. Don't care about the power supply cause my printer needs power anyhow. Same with my 1TB HDD.
I hope it's easy to install and use as USB - should be as I think this is the whole idea behind wireless USB.

By the way, they say in the features that "The Wireless USB adapter set does not support devices requiring isochronous support, such as webcams, speakers or microphones", so all you guys planning to spy on someone with a web cam, might not work.

[JK @ Dec 3rd 2008 9:51PM]

folks, check this out..their product is more cool, really easy-to-use...plug and play!
http://artimi.com/

more cool thing is here...a projector solution which can support both video and audio streaming!!!
http://www.imation.com/products/wireless_projection/index.html

[sam @ Jan 6th 2009 12:01AM]

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