Contract engineer and embedded specialist eSOL Co., Ltd. has announced that it has been selected to provide middleware for FAT filesystem support and USB host functionality for Wii.
FAT filesystem support is provided by eSOL's PrFILE2 product, which supports file I/O on the Wii's SD card slot, as well as "other media". USB host support is provided by eSOL's PrUSB/Host to support the operation of yet-unannounced USB devices.
With this announcement, it's fair to surmise that USB hardware is being developed for Wii, perhaps for external storage or some similar functionality. Even if said hardware has already been developed, it may not be made available for some time—so don't hold your breath.
FAT filesystem support is provided by eSOL's PrFILE2 product, which supports file I/O on the Wii's SD card slot, as well as "other media". USB host support is provided by eSOL's PrUSB/Host to support the operation of yet-unannounced USB devices.
With this announcement, it's fair to surmise that USB hardware is being developed for Wii, perhaps for external storage or some similar functionality. Even if said hardware has already been developed, it may not be made available for some time—so don't hold your breath.