Today more and more people are moving towards using the wireless connection of their devices. Headphones, smartphone chargers, keyboards… all these gadgets don’t need already cable cords. The wireless connection can improve our lives and deprive us of necessity to get lost in tangled cables. But is it as good as marketers say? And what fate awaits wired technologies? Let’s try to understand.
At this moment the wireless connection is available anywhere and represents the part of our environment like air. Thanks to Wi-Fi or 3G/4G Internet you always have a possibility to connect your device to network right in the middle of the street.
Of course, the most popular and useful type of wireless connection is Wi-Fi. The first advantages of Wi-Fi are mobility, good range of signal and possibility to connect a few devices to one access point at the same time. But the number of swindlers able to hack Wi-Fi network and get access to personal information of user grows every day and that’s why this type of connection is not ideal. Moreover, the quality of data rates directly depends on a number of connected devices.
Another interesting and widespread type of connection is Bluetooth. In the most of cases, it is used to connect two or more devices among themselves but is not used for internet access. The range of the signal of Bluetooth is also limited: 100 meters max. On this basis, it may seem that this type of wireless connection is very bounded and is a relic of the past. However, the main task of Bluetooth connection is not to give network access, but replace cable cords between your devices in the house. Rather than using a million of USB ports and entangling in the wires, you can use just one bluetooth adapter unifying all your gadgets with your PC.
There are also some types of connection much less popular than Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. One of the most perspective technologies of the future connection is WiGig. This technology gives a possibility to transmit data at a rate of 7 gigabits per second. In other words, this rate is ten times faster than IEEE 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard (the most “fast” Wi-Fi standard in the world). Operating in 60 GHz WiGig is capable to transfer much more information than Wi-Fi. But at the same time, the frequency 60 GHz is the first drawback of this technology, because the signal can’t overcome the walls, ceiling and floor. So, WiGig should be seen also as an alternative to USB or Bluetooth connection rather than rival of Wi-Fi.
The future of network connection can be lies in WiMAX, another interesting technology of wireless communications. It can bind different access points of Wi-Fi thus enabling network connection regardless of geographical location. The main advantage of WiMAX is a very large network coverage: within a radius of several tens of kilometers approximately.
And what about the wired connection? Despite the very impressive development of wireless technologies it doesn’t yield its positions. In the near future, all owners of electronic devices will use the new type of USB adapters: USB Type-C. This is new very effective connector able to transmit information at incredibly high speeds: to 10 gigabits per second. You can already see these adapters on the MacBook Air from Apple. Another important advantage of USB Type-C is a symmetry connector. So, you will never go wrong inserting the plug into the adapter because it doesn’t matter which side of the plug will you insert.
