Wi-Fi's next frontier: Connecting devices

Kelly Davis-Felner, marketing director for the Wi-Fi Alliance, said the organization is launching a certification program for device-to-device connectivity via Wi-Fi that will officially kick off next summer. Similar to Bluetooth 3.0, device-to-device Wi-Fi enables quick connections between devices. This could include transferring content from a TV set-top box to its display or a proprietary implementation that lets two gamers share a video game between their Wi-Fi-enabled PlayStation consoles. It would also enable wirelessly sharing pictures from a cell phone or even sending a mobile image to display on a projector or a document from a laptop to a printer. Another use case comes from human interface devices, including mice, headphones and displays. Enterprise functionality is also being built in, Davis-Felner said.