Icron Technologies claims to have created the industry's first wireless USB 2.0 hub based on the 802.11g WiFi standard. The WiRanger 4-port hub-and-dongle set brings seamless plug-and-play connectivity to multiple USB devices up to 30 meters away, including printers, scanners, hard drives, and MP3 players, according to the… company.

(Click here for larger view of the WiRanger hub)

Icron says the WiRanger hub and dongle set is compatible with USB 1.1 and 2.0, supporting all defined transfer types: control, bulk, interrupt, and isochronous. Furthermore, the set provides “driverless, plug and play [compatibility] with all devices on all operating systems.” Additionally, it is equipped with global regulatory approval.

Icron CEO Robert Eisses stated, “customers want the freedom to move beyond the desktop, or the room, and seamlessly connect their USB devices… to PCs and Macs throughout the home or office.” The WiFi standard makes the wireless extension of USB totally transparent, he explained, without any software reconfiguration required.

According to Kirsten West, principal analyst with market research firm WRTS, “Icron is first to reach the holy grail of seamless high-speed wireless connectivity between USB-enabled products. This is a tremendous accomplishment not only for Icron, but also for the USB community as a whole… [addressing] a tremendous market opportunity by making connectivity seamless regardless of the underlying connection type.”

Availability

The WiRanger hub and dongle set is available now, priced at $395.

According to Eisses, it is the first in a “growing family of products utilizing a variety of wireless technologies including UWB [UltraWide Band]and 802.11a/b/g/n/ to meet different application requirements in the industrial, military, prosumer, medical and commercial markets.”

 
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