Connect external displays without cables
If you've always wanted to connect an external display to your laptop without having to physically hook a cable between the two, I have good news for you.
Iogear introduced on Tuesday its Wireless USB to VGA Kit for streaming PC content to an alternate display. This is going to be one of the first implementations of Wireless USB.
WUSB technology has been under development since 2004, and the first time I saw its demo was during Winhec 2006. As the name suggests, it's essentially the current USB 2.0 technology without USB cables. WUSB can operate at full USB 2.0 speed (480Mbps) within a 10-foot range--longer than the length of most standard USB cables--and up to 110Mbps within a 30-feet range.
The WUSB to VGA kit from Iogear includes two compact components.
(Credit: Iogear)For now, most computers and legacy peripherals have to be upgraded to WUSB with add-in cards and hubs. Going forward, most computers and devices will hopefully have this technology built in, just like USB 2.0.
The WUSB VGA kit from Iogear will allow for quickly displaying your laptop's visual content to an external display such as an LCD, a HDTV, or a projector, just like you would currently do by hooking the two with a VGA cable.
The kit allows for displaying anything you see on the laptop's screen, including 720p HD video content on the alternate display up to 30 feet away. For non HD content, the kit supports resolutions up to UXGA (1600x1200) or WSXGA+ (1680x1050), which are higher than the native resolutions of most laptops. It can also take advantage of a television's picture-in-picture function so that you can view the laptop's content and watch TV at the same time.
The WUSB to VGA kit consists of a Wireless USB adapter that connects to a Windows PC and a wireless VGA adapter to plug in to a VGA display. You'll still need a VGA cable (not included) to connect the wireless VGA adapter to the display, however. Aside from the VGA cable, the setup is compact enough for you to easily carry on the go.
The kit is compatible with both Windows XP and Windows Vista operating systems and will be available for the general market sometime in October for about $230.
Dong Ngo is a CNET editor who covers networking and network storage, and writes about anything else he finds interesting. You can also listen to his podcast at insidecnetlabs.cnet.com. E-mail Dong. 
Am I the only one who thinks this is stupid? Why didn't they make the thing with a male end VGA connector?
Nice try, though.
- by renGek August 28, 2008 1:22 PM PDT
- Its probably useful if you want to connect your laptop to your hdtv and stream content from the laptop. Granted its probably cheaper and easier to do what I currently do, use an old desktop and connect its dvi to hdmi on the tv.
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