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WiFi devices will soon talk to each other before they connect
WiFi-equipped gadgets don't really say anything to each other before they connect, which limits what they can do -- you can't use them as Bluetooth-like smart beacons, or quickly find who's sharing photos. All that's going to change soon, though, thanks to the newly unveiled WiFi Aware spec. The technology has devices swapping tiny messages about their services when they detect each other, making it easy to send alerts and connect only to those devices you care about. You could quickly find nearby rivals for a multiplayer game, for example, or get a notification about a sale when you wander by a preferred store. And no, battery life shouldn't take a hit. Although WiFi Aware can run in the background, its use of a common "heartbeat" for the sync process could actually make it more efficient than conventional WiFi.
