TwinMOS offers USB Wi-Fi adaptor

Future of ad hoc WLANs?

By Tony Smith • Get more from this author

Posted in Wireless, 17th December 2003 11:58 GMT

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Taiwainese memory specialist TwinMOS is hopping onto the USB Flash Drive/WLAN adaptor combo bandwagon with a curvy, blue entry into the market.

It is also offering a version that provides just plug-and-play USB Wi-Fi, without the Flash drive component.

The combo unit, dubbed the B241, contains 128MB of Flash storage space accessed via a USB 1.1 connector. Alongside the Flash memory, inside the unit, is an 802.11b 11Mbps Wi-Fi adaptor designed for worldwide usage. Its antenna clips against the side of the unit and pivots out at the top of the device.

The B241 can operate as a WLAN adaptor independently of the Flash drive - handy, perhaps, if your OS doesn't support USB Mass Storage devices. The B240 has to work that way because it doesn't contain any Flash storage. Like the Flash-equipped version, it supports WEP 64-bit and 128-bit security, but not WPA.

TwinMOS' entry into the Flash/Wi-Fi combo market follows recent product announcements from Gigabyte and a number of other Far Eastern manufacturers. ®