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Taking on what it calls the "cable overload," Microsoft on Thursday unveiled a Bluetooth-enabled keyboard and mouse, plus a transceiver for PCs and says it will release a Bluetooth software development kit.

The wireless control devices and the Bluetooth transceiver should be available in stores in the second half of the year, Microsoft says, adding that it will continue to offer its existing 27-MHz wireless keyboard and mouse products as a lower-cost alternative to Bluetooth.

The announcement was made at Microsoft's Windows Hardware Engineering Conference.

The Bluetooth transceiver, which connects to the PC using a Universal Serial Bus connection, can function as a hub for up to seven Bluetooth-enabled devices. These devices can be up to 30 feet away from the hub, Microsoft says.

Moving Into the Mainstream

Bluetooth is supported today in PDAs and mobile phones, for example.

To help hardware makers and software developers building Bluetooth-compatible devices that work with Windows XP, Microsoft in May plans to release a Bluetooth software development kit, the company says.

Bluetooth is a specification for radio-based wireless links among devices. It allows users to clear the clutter of wires and set up a personal area network.

Backers of the technology had expected it to reach critical mass by now, but support by hardware makers is still limited.

The specification is developed, published and promoted by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, a trade association comprised of many vendors and backed by Microsoft.