PLX USB Duet: your netbook is now a cumbersome iPad keyboard
By Joanna Stern 
posted May 24th 2010 11:20PM
posted May 24th 2010 11:20PM
PLX USB Duet Simplifies Apple iPad Photo, Keyboard, Audio Sharing
Users Just Attach Enabled Netbook to iPad via Standard USB Cable; iTunes Not Needed
SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- May 18, 2010 -- PLX Technology (NASDAQ: PLXT), a leading global supplier of silicon and software interconnect solutions for the enterprise and consumer markets, today announced its unique USB Duet® solution for mobile PCs enables plug-and-play connectivity with the Apple® iPad™ tablet. PLX® USB Duet instantly allows users to load content to the iPad or, conversely, easily share the mobile PC's larger tactile keyboard, and speakers - all without the need for iTunes® software.
USB Duet is an exclusive combination of PLX-engineered hardware and application software designed directly into OEMs' new netbook and notebook computers. USB Duet allows Windows®-based computers to easily share content and functionality with the iPad -- or other PCs -- simply by attaching a standard USB cable, thus enabling effortless connectivity without the need for special drivers or setup. Common usage models of USB Duet-enabled PCs include sharing an optical disk drive to load multimedia or software, file sharing, storage and backup - all of which is much faster than engaging the cloud.
"Leading OEMs in Japan already are delivering USB Duet-enabled netbooks and notebooks to customers and PLX is working closely with other global mobile computing designers today to utilize this powerful connectivity technology," said David Raun, vice president of marketing and business development at PLX. "Our vision is for USB Duet to become the gold standard mobile connectivity solution for the entire computing market."
TechNow -- the popular Silicon Valley-based television program broadcast in the San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego metropolitan areas, as well as available as a Webcast -- recently featured PLX USB Duet and the segment can be seen online at www.youtube.com/user/plxtech. More information about USB Duet, including a series of video tutorials on how it operates, can be found on the PLX Website at www.usbduet.com.
PLX will deliver a presentation on USB Duet at the upcoming Netbook Summit on May 24, 2010, in South San Francisco, California. Register here www.netbooksummit.com.
About PLX
PLX Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLXT), based in Sunnyvale, Calif., USA, is an industry-leading global provider of semiconductor based connectivity solutions primarily targeting the enterprise and consumer markets. The Company develops innovative software-enriched silicon that enables product differentiation, reliable interoperability and superior performance. www.plxtech.com.
PLX Technology and the PLX Technology logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of PLX Technology, Inc. All other product names that appear in this material are for identification purposes only and are acknowledged to be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
@Sogeking I love you.
@ddddd You clearly don't live in the correct decade. Let me fill you up on how things are ran now a days; not having a complete OS, not being able to browse the internet how its suppose to be used, not even having a low end camera, paying $400+*. All the prior things i mentioned are worthless as long as you have a hip cool revolutionary product from Apple, especially an ipad
So all you have to do is buy a perfectly usable ~$300 dollar netbook, to use as a keyboard for a completely useless tablet?
OK?
this should be "breaking" or "featured"
People sure enjoy seeing smudge and grease on their screen these day. Is this the new trend? Long live stylus.
Oh...The Irony...!
Wow now I am going to buy an iPad!!
That's redundant for no reason. That's redundant for no reason.
@rl78 Thank You for applying your application to the Department of Redundancy Department! We are currently seeking, and examining with extreme care, for participants to participate in the our participation program! Please look forward to hearing from us soon, as we will be contacting you shortly, within a short amount of time!
signed,
CEO, Droid, CEO of the Department of Redundancy Department.
The next "breaking" is going to be someone who does the same but with two iPads at once for multitasking.
@ddddd *Whoooooosh* Whoah!! Did you see that?! That was his sarcasm whisking right over your befuddled head.
Wow... the Keyboard is easily one of the worst features of a Netbook, second only to the Shitty little screen. "Lets take the most cramped little keyboard and make it useful on a device that was designed not to need one!" Genius. Spend a couple hundred bucks less and get an Apple Bluetooth keyboard. Better typing, less money, easier configuration. Tell me again why netbooks still exist?
@Kuhnaydeein Because people like choices? Sometimes people don't like being told... wait for it... what to like.
@LanDROID It's not that Apple is telling people what they should like, they just make stuff that's awesome that people like by their own choice. Apple didn't tell people that the original iPod was cool and they should like it, the device was by nature cool, and in turn people liked it. I know no one who thinks the keyboard on a Netbook is preferable to ANY other physical keyboard. The keyboard on my Moto Q9c is better to type on in my opinion. I've used an iPad and typed on it, it's not a bad alternative to a physical keyboard. The keyboard on a netbook, however, is a bad alternative to EVERYTHING. I'd rather lose 8 fingers and have to type with my Phone than try the tiny-key hunt-and-peck that has to be done on the 3/4 scale netbook keyboards. I know the keyboard on the iPad isn't 100% either, but it's intelligent enough to know when I hit the wrong key it can correct for it. Netbook 'home row' typing is like typing with boxing gloves on. I know Strong Bad can do it, but I can't.
wayyyy too much trouble. - Ravi Shanghavi, Ottawa, Canada
This HAS to be an Onion article. Come on, it really is, right?.....it is...has to be....
Uhm... if you have a working netbook, why in God's name would you...
... No. I can't. I'm not visionary enough to see past the magical revolutionary redundance of this product.
on the other hand, if you already have a laptop, do you really need an iPad ? anyways, iPad owners can't even watch the video in the article, guess why...
gay..
Early one morning,late one night;
2 dead soldiers got up to fight;
back to back they faced each other;
drew on their swords and shots one another;
don't believe me, ask the blind man who saw it all;
through a knothole in a wooden brick wall.....
This begs the question, WHY??
using a peice of technology that is optimised for the job, to suplement part of a device which cant do anything nearly as well with it.
this is just for people to lul themselves into believing that their Ipad was a good and practical investment...
Would make a bit more sense if it used bluetooth rather than having to be tethered.
What is in that Kool-Aid? The iPad: an answer looking for a question.
Forget the iPad, you can use the USB DUET enabled Netbook to hook up to any computer. Instant access to the bigger computers CD drive and hard drive so you can load your stuff faster.
this is a sad waste of energy using the keyboard from a netbook for ipad
and the ipad doesnt support that great of a web browsing experience
i'll stick to a laptop and itouch thank you