NEC today announced that the company's μPD720170 Wireless USB host controller for PCI interfaces and μPD720180 Wireless USB device wire adapter (DWA) are among the first products to be certified by the USB Implementers Forum, Inc. (USB-IF). NEC Electronics' USB-IF-certified host controller and DWA make it easy for designers to implement ultra wideband (UWB) wireless technology between USB peripherals and computers or consumer electronics products via a quick relay of data chunks based on Certified Wireless USB technology.

NEC Electronics' μPD720170 host controller supports all eight data transfer rates-from 53.3 up to 480 megabits per second (Mbps). The μPD720180 DWA chip provides the functionality required by the Certified Wireless USB standard and also enables interoperability with current USB devices. Designers can easily implement a complete system based on Certified Wireless USB technology by combining the two NEC Electronics chips.

Certified Wireless USB technology from the USB-IF is an extension to the current USB 2.0 standard that is considerd as the next-generation interface for computers and multimedia consumer electronics. Certified Wireless USB technology delivers data transfer rates up to 480 Mbps, comparable to wired USB 2.0 connections, with a maximum wireless communications range of up to 10 meters. Unwiring the cable connection frees users from having to make cumbersome and unsightly wired connections to enjoy high-speed data access and allows users to connect their devices freely wherever they want to use them.

Along with Intel and other industry leaders, NEC is a core member of the USB-IF, which developed and supports the USB specification. Since launching volume production of USB 2.0 devices in 2000, NEC Electronics has shipped 100 million-plus units.

Samples of the μPD720170 and μPD720180 Wireless USB devices are available now starting at $20 each in sample quantities.