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Could Wi-Fi Direct Threaten Bluetooth's Existence?
by Priyanka - October 15, 2009 - comments
The new Wi-Fi Direct specifications will provide instant connectivity with various devices
New York, October 15 -- The Wi-Fi Alliance on Wednesday said that it is almost finished working on Wi-Fi Direct specifications, which will allow devices to connect directly to each other, with no assistance from a router.
The Alliance believes that the new specifications will allow various devices ranging from keyboards to printers etc to connect directly-- wirelessly, reliably and securely-- without the need for a hotspot in “infrastructure” mode.
With this new specification, it will be much easier to directly connect with Wi-Fi devices like PC’s (specifically notebooks), cameras, phones, keyboards, headphones and printers etc.
Wi-Fi-enabled devices connect through “ad-hoc mode”, but the security and configuration issues threaten its usefulness and it hardly works most of the time.
Phil Solis, an analyst with ABI Research, said that even after security improvements this new technology might not be big hit in big offices.
Would it be the end of Bluetooth? No one seems to be making any concrete comment on this issue. But according to Solis, Wi-Fi Direct will not be a Bluetooth killer. "It's just going to give you more options in how you can connect devices," he said.
Features not changed much
Not much has changed in features. Almost all the characteristics and features are the same as the existing Wi-Fi, such as ranges, data rates and WPA2 security. But, the new specs will support up to 250 MBps as compared to the 11 MBps offered by ad-hoc connection, according to Karl Stetson, Wi-Fi Alliance spokesman.
It seems like a good deal. Still speculations are high all around, and proper analysis can be made once it’s out in open.
Anyhow, buzz is on and tech-savvy readers online are talking about the new find. Like this online reader on tomshardware.com, Anonymousdude posted, “It's good to see technologies unified, Wi-Fi Direct, Open Physics in new-gen graphics, Intel Light-Peak.Bluetooth is useful, but one technology for all purposes is good.”
Another reader on the same site, Mrhappy50, who’s a little suspicious about its arrival, has posted, “hopefully it won’t take 6 or 7 years to make it the official version”.
The availability
Wi-Fi Direct spec will be available for consumers in 2010, according to the Wi-Fi Alliance. Apple, Cisco, Intel, and nearly 300 other companies will be among its members. Though there’s no word on who will be shipping products compatible with the new specification.