14 DAY TRIAL // Belkin today announced its new Cable-Free USB Hub. As wireless USB solutions are starting to emerge, the Belkin Cable-Free USB claims to be the industry's first cable-free USB hub. That is in fact not true if you take into account that Y-E Data announced its YD-300 UWB hub last month in Japan. Ok, that is only in Japan but it still holds its spot. I guess the wireless USB hub idea is starting to produce a real wave among the wireless solution producers. Nevertheless, the Belkin Cable-Free USB hub remains the only one which uses Ultra-Wideband technology to allow USB device connectivity wirelessly. The technology behind the catchy title means that Belkin's device uses larger bandwidth than needed, ensuring that enough speed is allocated for each USB device.
The Belkin Cable-Free USB has a real large target including all sorts of mobile and fixed USB devices ranging from laptops and PDAs to cell phones and portable printers. The device offers speeds up to 480Mbps complying to the USB 2.0 standard and has an usable range of about 30ft. As for the availability, the product is expected later this month with a price tag of $199.99. The Belkin Cable-Free USB hub bundles with a 4-port hub that connects to the wireless transmitter and includes the needed USB dongle. However it seems that, for now, the product coming from Belkin is not USB certified.
It took some time before the wireless era entered the USB hubs segment but it seems that the idea has already produced 2 contenders. My guess is that others will surely follow the trend and we'll probably have 10 to 15 products of this kind flooding the market in the next 6 months. So don't hurry and buy from Belkin now when you can choose from many more products later.