Ozmo / Intel trumpet WiFi PAN for low-power devices, Bluetooth says "what?"

Look out, Bluetooth -- Ozmo Devices has its eyes set squarely on you. Okay, so maybe this whole thing isn't as adversarial as advertised, but there's no denying that the aforesaid company's latest initiative will target the exact same devices that BT is embedded within now. Ozmo has announced a partnership with Intel at Computex that will extend the latter company's Cliffside WiFi Personal Area Network (PAN) technology to "low-power devices." Essentially, WiFi radios that suck less juice nowadays would take on dual roles -- accessing WLAN networks and doing the duties typically reserved for Bluetooth -- which would enable devices to have one less component stuffed within bulking things up. As of now, there's been no takers on the design, but word on the street has Belkin already testing the approach out for kicks and giggles (or maybe something way more serious).

[Via DailyWireless]

Read - Ozmo Devices' press release
Read - WiFI PAN explained

[decapitor @ Jun 4th 2008 9:07AM]

Sure why not? At least for me, bluetooth has been the least reliable technology I've ever tried to work with, and I think it's had plenty of time to mature. Even if this doesn't take off maybe it will get the bluetooth camp to work on making their devices work each time they start, not just half the time and maybe after a reboot...

[Bob @ Jun 4th 2008 9:36AM]

I have a bt keyboard and mouse for my Macbook Pro, and I've not had a single issue with it. It's worked perfect from day one...

[j_g_puff @ Jun 4th 2008 9:47AM]

I agree that stimulating bluetooth improvement is great, but I dont understand how this can be a serious competitor. The WiFi band is crowded and only has 3 non-overlapping channels; allowing a bazillion new devices to use the stressed 802.11 MAC is just going to cause throughput to grind to a halt, especially with the 40MHz channel bonding modes allowed by new 802.11n devices.

Bluetooth is really a lot more appropriate for short range, low throughput devices like headsets and mice. It uses frequency hopping and so causes minimal interference to 802.11 and other 2.4GHz technologies. Plus, BT was designed from the ground up to be cheap, simple and low power. Sure it has problems, but I reckon adapting WiFi to be cheap and low power will be much harder than fixing up BT.

[loosely_coupled @ Jun 4th 2008 8:22PM]

This is a TERRIBLE IDEA!!! Bluetooth has worked great for me for wireless computer mice and cellphone headsets at least. I'm sure people have issues, but it's like any other wireless system.

Surely the WORST thing to do is create another god forsaken format war! NO NO NONON ONNONONON ONOONNOONN NO NONO NONONO

[rederikus @ Jun 4th 2008 9:32AM]

At last, a possible replacement for bluetooth. All it has to do is work to kill bt forever. Even the threat of a replacement techology may cause, as decapitor says above, the bluetooth people to produce a product that has good quality, uniform funcionality and a standard Windows protocol stack. Bluetooth is the least reliable networking protocol that I use. It need replacing badly.

[NC @ Jun 4th 2008 12:33PM]

Most BT equipment follow pretty oki defined protocols (unless you're dealing with Logitech), and the problem with horrific BT implementations is mostly just because neither Microsoft nor Apples gives a shit. Get them to implement your "standard Windows protocol stack." (...)

[Mr_O_Flannery @ Jun 4th 2008 11:09AM]

Seems unreasonable....

[Able-X @ Jun 4th 2008 11:17AM]

I really hope we can get competition to bluetooth, it's so hit or miss, even in a single product line. I used a bluetooth mouse and keyboard with my dell d420 and it was great, but it fails miserably on teh d820. My phone can only pair with a headset OR another device, not 2 at the same time which sucks.
Also, the "minimal interference" with bluetooth is BS, it seriously interferes with other BT devices. If my phone was placed anywhere near my keyboard, it'd make my keyboard freak out and my mouse stop working.

[Jeffro @ Jun 4th 2008 12:36PM]

I use BT on my PocketPC (HP hx4700 with 256 RAM) and it works great! I can use at least 4 BT devices at the same time. I always use a ThinkOutside Stowaway mouse and keyboard and often my Plantronics 510 BT headset, as I am currently. That is my most common setup. Occasionally though, I use my Pharos BT GPS unit at the same time as all of the above and I have had no issues. In fact I can use all four of these devices and access Wi-Fi as well. Too Awesome for words. Especially since I've been doing this since 2005. :-) I like the competition for BT but most folks (not Engadget readers) are not aware of BT use other than mobile phone headsets.

[Jamma @ Jun 4th 2008 1:19PM]

This is isn't as pointless as you may think- the 3 device i use the most with WiFi don't have bluetooth, and I would love the features that bluetooth offers on them.

EEE PC
iPod Touch
PSP

are the 3 that I use, but there are many more devices without bluetooth but with WiFi, such as:

Nintendo DS and Wii
Xbox 360
Zune
Archos DAPs
WiFi digital cameras

and many more...

[William Hartmann @ Jun 5th 2008 10:20PM]

Actually, The Wii uses bluetooth to connect the remotes to the console