Bluetooth 2.1 on the way: near-field communications and 5x battery

Gear Live got the chance to check the new Bluetooth 2.1+EDR specification live with Michael Foley, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG (Special Interest Group). Most definitely, the coolest new feature is delivered via an optional part of the spec dubbed "near-field communications." Using a prototype Nokia cellphone and Parrot picture frame, Foley was able to snap a photo on the handset and then pair and transfer it to the frame by simply holding the phone a few inches away from the display. Other notable enhancements are 5x reduction in battery drain (hoozah!) for Bluetooth mice and keyboards as well as enhanced security. The spec is "just being finalized now" with first product expected to hit around the 2007 holiday season. Fingers crossed eh, as these things tend to drag out a bit longer than expected. In the mean time, check the full video demonstration after the break.

[Battousai8728 @ Mar 7th 2007 8:07AM]

So would this require a new Bluetooth card or just a firmware update (for computers)?

[Tristan Marsh @ Mar 7th 2007 8:42AM]

ohh. WTF!
Instead of getting my macbook pro last year, Im waiting till june like a good little boy for when leopard and all the good craps in it.
And now they do this to me...

I can only hope they'll pull a shifty and stash draft-Bluetooth 2.1 into mine. Then charge me extra so for something the hardware should of/could of already do...

meh.

[Richard @ Mar 7th 2007 8:54AM]

Yeah, and my Treo is still stuck on BT 1.2. Time to switch to a BB.

[PEZ @ Mar 7th 2007 8:56AM]

I hate incremental versions of anything. That decimel point pisses me off! :-P

[Andrew Hillman, Andrew Hillman @ Mar 7th 2007 9:33AM]

No one tells anyone how wonderful bluetooth can drain the heck out of you battery or catch wireless viruses!

[Ricky Cadden @ Mar 7th 2007 9:53AM]

No one tells you that, Andrew, cause it's simply not true. Every phone I've ever owned with Bluetooth, I leave it on all day, in discoverable mode. I have yet, in 3 years, to get a single Bluetooth virus, and my battery lasts just fine.

[h0mi @ Mar 7th 2007 11:44AM]

Battery drain? Yes, I've seen lots of posts about that on Howardforums.

Wireless virii? Not so much.

[kynetx @ Mar 7th 2007 10:06AM]

Perhaps, if we are very lucky, this will blow less than Bluetooth 2.0

[Frankenstein Black @ Mar 7th 2007 10:42AM]

Don’t go getting all gassed up if you have Verizon! This is just another cool consumer tech enhancement that they will simply GIMP! They’ve done it before (proudly), and they will do it again. “VERIZON DON’T LOVE YOU HO’s” ;^)...

[Peter Beckman @ Mar 7th 2007 11:38AM]

That was such a horrible and campy video. Andru is a horrible interviewer, the interviewee was given no instruction as to where to look, 'um' was said far too many times... it was painful to watch.

The technology was drool-worthy though.

[Taylor Kemp @ Mar 7th 2007 12:18PM]

It has been saying all over the news sight for the bluetooth sig that they were headed towards bt 3.0 with ultra wide band (wireless usb) type speeds, and there was also going to be support for hd video and audio streaming thanks to the new speed, where did they pull this "2.1" sh@! from, why don't they just go to 3.0 with uwb, the improvements on 2.1 are superficial and will just be a stupid upgrade, causing you to have to waste your money buying all new stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!
bluetooth sig needs to pull their head out of there holes!!

[Taylor Kemp @ Mar 7th 2007 12:24PM]

look at these news releases on the bluetooth sig website, they don't just hint at, but blatently say "bluetooth via UWB" and "bluetooth at 480mbps"

Read these 3
http://www.bluetooth.com/Bluetooth/Press/News/Bluetooth_Wireless_Technology_over_UWB_Demonstrated_at_Bluetooth_SIG_All_Hands_Meeting.htm

and this video:
http://www.click-incisor.com/click-flash-player.php?movie_file=AndersEdlund_B-SIG.flv

http://www.bluetooth.com/Bluetooth/Press/News/Open_Interface_and_Alereon_first_to_demonstrate_480_Mbps_emBluetoothem_over_WiMedia_UltraWideband.htm

http://www.bluetooth.com/Bluetooth/Press/News/High_Speed_emBluetoothem.htm

[Jim Jonze @ Mar 7th 2007 2:04PM]

Anyone considered the mental distress you could cause with this technology and a phone full of goatse and tubgirl pictures in a Best Buy or Brookstone that had frames featuring this technology?

[Max_k @ Mar 8th 2007 3:54AM]

The Near Field phone from Nokia has been testing in NYC for a few months now. It's a trial with Cingular and Citi-Card's PayPass. You can use the phone wherever there's a paypass reader, and there are some RFID posters that direct you to links in the phone's browser.

I've been using it since January and I'm going to be incredibly sad to give it back. Everyone seems hung up on the Bluetooth aspect, but the NFC is even more interesting if you ask me. Finally, some of the Japanese e-wallet technology is coming to the US.

[Wwhat @ Apr 16th 2007 2:04PM]

Of course although the 'near field' concept seems pretty clever and nice it does mean that if someone simply amplifies the field with 'near field' specs he can mess with everybody's equipment that then thinks something is 'near', some joker could make all printers in a few mile radius print goatse andsoforth for instance, or display it on all lcd-frames in a store.
On the other hand, it also allows printing political manifests anonymously, which could be good, or bomb threats, which would be bad.