Latest Wi-Fi Certification Rolls Out

With more than 1 billion Wi-Fi devices shipped in 2011 alone, it's indisputable that wires are ceding ground to this technology in the so-called "digital home." Indeed, ABI Research predicts annual growth rate for Wi-Fi consumer devices over the next four years will exceed 30%.

The Wi-Fi Alliance, a non-profit industry association facilitating Wi-Fi adoption, certified almost 1500 digital home and mobile devices last year. Now, the organization is finalizing its certification program for Wi-Fi devices to support display applications. A new certification mark has been defined to designate these products: Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast.

Devices bearing this designation make use of a Wi-Fi connection to deliver audio and video content from one device to another, without cables or a connection to an existing Wi-Fi network. These devices connect directly, enabling such tasks as watching videos from a smartphone on a big-screen television. Televisions, set-top boxes, handsets, and tablets are among the device types which will be certified. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast products will have implemented the Wi-Fi Alliance Wi-Fi Display Specification, and will have proven interoperability through laboratory testing.