Wi-fi 'to get a whole lot easier'

Dingswayo · 2009-10-15T07:14:49+00:00

Wi-fi 'to get a whole lot easier' By Maggie Shiels BBC technology reporter, Silicon Valley The world of wi-fi is to become a whole lot easier thanks to a major technology upgrade, says an industry group. The Wi-Fi Alliance said it would soon finish work on a new specification called Wi-Fi Direct. It will let wi-fi devices like phones and laptops connect to one another without joining a traditional network. The Wi-Fi Alliance - whose members include Intel, Apple and Cisco - hopes devices with the new technology will be on the market by the middle of 2010. Owners of devices without Wi-Fi Direct will be able to upgrade through a software download, says the technology consortium. The Wi-Fi Alliance's marketing director, Kelly Davis-Felner, told BBC News: "This is going to be a quick and convenient way to use wi-fi in future to print, synch, share and display. "The consumer is going to experience this as a very easy-to-use mechanism that will be quite seamless." Threat to Bluetooth? Wi-Fi Direct will automatically scan for local existing hotspots and any wi-fi-enabled devices, such as cameras, phones and computers. The Alliance says the specification will search for both consumer electronics and office applications, enabling devices to connect from across a home or workplace. Victoria Foote, senior analyst at In-Stat, said it was a "terrific innovation". Ben Parr, co-editor of Mashable.com, told BBC News the potential impact could be far-reaching. But industry watchers also say the technology could pose a threat to the future of Bluetooth and perhaps do away with the need to use wi-fi routers in some places.

Thread starter Dingswayo
Start date Oct 15, 2009

Dingswayo

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Wi-fi 'to get a whole lot easier'

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