Samsung’s Galaxy S: First Smartphone with Wifi Direct certification

Akihabara News reports that Samsung’s Galaxy S smartphone, already widely available in many markets, has become the first smartphone to receive WiFi Direct certification.

WiFi Direct is a new standard that allows WiFi devices to find each other and interconnect without the need for a central access point.  Similar to Bluetooth in scope, WiFi Direct has the advantage that more gadgets now support WiFi than support Bluetooth.  However, the real benefit of WiFi Direct is that only one WiFi device needs to be WiFi Direct capable.  The devices in the pool will negotiate between themselves to decide which will become the master.  After that all WiFi devices, including legacy WiFi devices, in the pool can operate normally and link with each other.

In an environment where increasing numbers of small gadgets are WiFi capable, WiFi Direct will enable us to simplify our personal networks removing the need for all of our device communications to be routed through a central access point and enabling us to carry our networked devices out of the fixed home or office environment yet still be able to use them to access online services.