A new specification, called Wi-Fi Direct, provides peer-to-peer connections between Wi-Fi devices, no hotspot or wireless router required. That could be bad news for Bluetooth, but good news for customers. Wi-Fi Direct has a wide array of potential uses, many of which encroach on Bluetooth territory and threaten to make the competing wireless protocol obsolete.

Developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance, and previously referred to by the codename “Wi-Fi peer-to-peer,” the new spec will be finalized soon and the Wi-Fi Alliance expects to begin certifying devices as Wi-Fi Direct compliant by mid-2010.

[Sources: Wi-Fi Alliance, PCW, PC World]