Bluetooth 3.0 to use WiFi for high-speed file transfers

Sounds like the Bluetooth 3.0 announcement on April 21 is going to finally usher in the era of high-speed short-range data transfers -- as previously hinted, the new spec will actually negotiate a quick'n'dirty ad-hoc WiFi connection between devices if it needs to move bits in a hurry, and then turn off the spigot to save power when it's done. The idea is to leverage the speed of WiFi while keeping power usage low, and we'd say it's a pretty trick solution, since most Bluetooth-capable devices also have WiFi radios (cough, Storm). Since the ad-hoc WiFi connection is managed over Bluetooth, no actual wireless network is necessary, and the switch will appear seamless to the user -- except for the sudden increase in data transfer speeds. Yeah, it's definitely slick stuff -- we're looking forward to seeing the first devices in action next Tuesday.

[Via MocoNews]

[kalleboo Posted Apr 14th 2009 10:31AM]

No Kip you're wrong. Pretty much every current phone aside from the absolute cheapest ones have Bluetooth (and every mid-range phone for the past 5 years). Only smartphones and some new high-end dumbphones have WiFi.

Also I never got the Wi-fi craze. What would I use it for. Maybe it's more an american thing where you have slow, dreadful 3G coverage?

[Sirius Posted Apr 15th 2009 8:08AM]

@ greenlight

"Also I never got the Wi-fi craze. What would I use it for. Maybe it's more an american thing where you have slow, dreadful 3G coverage?"

Or maybe it's a New Zealand thing where data costs you hand, foot, torso, and then some... Many a teenager have been reprimanded by shocked parents who receive mobile bills in the range of thousands of dollars because their poor teenager thought that mobile internet costs around the same as ADSL...

OTOH, I've always wondered why there are so many apps for WinMo that required a data connection instead of being usable offline (GPS maps, RSS aggregators..).. is data in America free or something?

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 14th 2009 4:35PM]

All this is spiffing, but whilst Bluetooth is being discussed, I want to ask a question.

I'm not too hot on the tech side of things, but its something I thought about whilst in the underground.

Okay, imagine that every bluetooth enabled phone, once every, say 10 seconds (I know it is a drain on battery, but bear with me), checks its signal strength and sends a tiny bit of data to all other nearby phones detailing current signal strength.

Then, within reason, so I guess gps would have to be used to prevent chains getting too long, all these phones forward received data the next time they transmit, to phones they can connect to that the original sender can't.

So all the time, phones are exchanging data regarding their signal strength and their location.

Would it ever be possible with this sort of system, if implemented, if you were in a subway station, but between the huge throng of people coming in and out constantly, to make a call by carrying the data across bluetooth, hopping from phone to phone, to the nearest phone reachable that has a strong signal?

I guess its sort of similar to the mesh networking in the OLPC. I don't know.

Basically... why can't I use my phone in Glasgow subway stations?