Lenovo and Dell First to Release Notebooks with Wireless USB

Lenovo and Dell are the first PC makers to release the notebooks with built-in Wireless USB modules. According to the USB Implementers Forum, Lenovo ThinkPad T61/T61p and Dell Inspiron 1720 are among the first six products to pass compliance and certification testing for Certified Wireless USB.

Wireless USB is expected enable computer peripherals and electronics devices, such as printers, external hard drives, mice, keyboards, digital cameras, and MP3 players, to connect to a system without a USB cable. This type of connection is similar to Bluetooth, but with much faster data transfer speeds. Currently, there are products like Wireless USB hubs with adapters, allowing users to place their computer anywhere in a room while still maintaining wireless access to standard USB devices.

Wireless USB is defined as a short-range, high-bandwidth wireless radio communication that combines the speed and ease-of-use of USB 2.0 with the convenience of wireless technology. Wireless USB is based on the Ultra-WideBand (UWB) radio platform, which is capable of sending 480 Mbit/s at distances up to 3 meters and 110 Mbit/s at up to 10 meters.

According to CNet, Lenovo ThinkPad T61 featuring Wireless USB technology is available now, while Dell’s Inspiron 1720 with built-in Wireless USB module is not planned to arrive until late summer or early fall.

iSuppli expects a spread of the Wireless USB technology from 1 million Wireless USB-enabled devices this year to 500 million in 2011.

[…] The X300 has a built-in 802.11n wireless module, a Gigabit Ethernet connection, broadband wireless and WiMax support, as well as Ultra-WideBand (UWB) technology. For video conferencing there is an integrated web camera. […]