Belkin cuts the cable with wireless USB hub

Angus Kidman
Tuesday, 05 December 2006 10:00

Your IT - Entertainment

Got piles of USB devices chaining your notebook computer to the desktop? Belkin's long-awaited wireless USB hub might spell the end of your cable worries.

The entertainment electronics developer has announced that its Cable-Free USB Hub will go on sale in mid-December, with a price tag of $US200. The hub, which can handle up to four USB 2.0 devices, uses ultra wideband (UWB) technology to communicate as far as nine metres.

Wireless USB has been heavily promoted as a concept for some time -- it was one of the major topics for discussion at CES 2006, for instance -- but Belkin's device represents the first commercial release into the US market. Belkin also plans to ship the device in other countries, pending regulatory approval.

Unfortunately, because virtually no notebooks have UWB support built in, you still need to plug a USB dongle into your machine to get the gadget to work. The hub also comes with a "dongle stand" to optimise reception.