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Bluetooth 4.0 with low energy (almost) finally ready to roll
Molasses, snails and glaciers: none are slower than an organization developing a new wireless standard. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) is no exception -- it's been nearly three years since it announced it would roll Wibree into Bluetooth and four months since it made Bluetooth 4.0 official, but still no dice. This week, the SIG says the low-power specification is ready for action, its minutiae finalized. However, fine print in the org's press release disagrees. The main reason for Bluetooth 4.0 was to include lower power devices, but that all-important integration is still pending a "before June 2010" completion date. That means we still won't see Bluetooth-toting cats till the end of the year, and we have no idea what SIG has accomplished in the meanwhile. Press release after the break.
Bluetooth 4.0 devices to make the scene later this year
We were glad to see Bluetooth low energy actually added to the Bluetooth 4.0 spec, but of course the question remained: when are we going to get our hands on it? By Q4 this year, apparently -- at least according to the Bluetooth SIG. But don't expect any dramatic changes in battery life for most of your gadgets: while the low energy spec introduces connectivity to a host of lower-power devices that have in the past relied on proprietary technology (such as watches, pedometers, and cats), your traditional Bluetooth devices, such as phones and laptops, will consume roughly the same amount of power. Indeed, the low energy spec is merely throwing smaller devices (with smaller amounts of data to transfer) in to the mix: if you want Trans-Siberian Orchestra to sound as glorious as ever on your wireless headphones, you'll need to push as much data (and hence draw as much power) with version 4 as you would with version 3. If you've ever heard "A Mad Russian's Christmas," you'd know what we're talking about.
Bluetooth 4.0 finally rolls low energy tech into a shipping standard
Bluetooth low energy and its predecessors (think Wibree) have been in the pipe for ages now, but we might actually see this tech take off en masse for the first time now that the Bluetooth SIG has officially added it into a release: 4.0. While Bluetooth 3.0 was all about high energy with the introduction of WiFi transfer, 4.0 takes things down a notch by certifying single-mode low energy devices in addition to dual-mode devices that incorporate both the low energy side of the spec plus either 2.1+EDR or 3.0. In a nutshell, the technology should bring a number of new categories and form factors of wireless devices into the fold since 1Mbps Bluetooth low energy can operate on coin cells -- the kinds you find in wristwatches, calculators, and remote controls -- and the SIG's pulling no punches by saying that "with today's announcement the race is on for product designers to be the first to market." Nokia pioneered Wibree, so you can bet they'll be among the frontrunners -- bring it, guys.
CSR demonstrates Bluetooth low energy transfer
We know you're not really down with digesting any more catchphrases, but the technology formerly known as Ultra Low Power Bluetooth / Wibree is now being dubbed Bluetooth low energy. Now that we're clear on nomenclature, you may be thrilled to know that CSR showcased its recently unveiled BlueCore7 dual mode (Bluetooth low energy and Bluetooth v2.1) chip at a Bluetooth SIG Medical Working Group meeting. According to onlookers, the handset was able to transfer data to another nearby mobile using just 3 frequencies rather than 32, resulting in an unquantifiable decrease in power consumption. Sounds like a winner on the surface, but we have this weird feeling that mass adoption of this tech is like, years away.
CSR crams Wibree, eGPS, and FM into BlueCore7 wireless chip
UK's CSR has been making waves in the Bluetooth and eGPS waters, so it's only fitting that it's the first to cram Bluetooth, eGPS, and FM all on one chip. The BlueCore7 silicon combines Bluetooth v2.1+EDR, ULP Bluetooth (or Wibree), eGPS (which they say works better in indoor and other non-GPS-friendly locales), and FM Tx and Rx in what they say is a major step in reducing the size, cost, and power needs of wireless devices. CSR boasts that this chip integrates "more wireless technologies on a single chip than any other product on the market." Who are we to argue? They expect to have BlueCore 7 to be available in volume starting in Q4 2008, when you'll be able to listen to FM radio on your Bluetooth headset while finding your satellite position indoors.[Via CustomPC]
CSR shows off dual-mode ULP Bluetooth radio
We haven't heard much about Wibree lately, but the next-gen Bluetooth standard looks to be humming along nicely, with a name change to ULP (Ultra Low Power Bluetooth) and now a dual-mode chip from CSR that supports Bluetooth 2.1 and ULP on the same silicon. The chip consumes 10 times less power than a standard Bluetooth unit while connecting, and 50 times less power during data transfer, as it's essentially a stripped down version of Bluetooth with way fewer frequencies to worry about. This dual-mode chips means we won't have to leave the superior bandwidth of Bluetooth 2.1 behind. The chip should be available in the market sometime in 2008.[Via The Inquirer]
ULP Bluetooth gets Texas Instrument lovin'
Texas Instruments loves Bluetooth. The RF and semiconductor company announced that it'll take what experience it has in the ZigBee arena into the Wibree realm since it apparently loves all tech ending in "ee." Seriously though, Ultra Low Power Bluetooth (which took over the Wibree standard just recently) will be TI's focus here as it tries to ply into the short-range connection explosion that we're still waiting on to occur between watches, toys, sensors and more. We love Bluetooth (who doesn't?) and ULP Bluetooth's potential to be a low-cost wireless connectivity scheme that expands beyond cellphones and PCs seems to be ripe for exploitation.
Wibree is now Bluetooth's ultra-low power wireless standard
Sometimes, just sometimes sanity prevails. Remember Wibree, Nokia's proposed Bluetooth-like (but not Bluetooth) solution for short-range wireless cable replacement in low-powered devices? Well, as of this morning, Wibree, and its 10x lower power consumption (but shorter range) will become part of the Bluetooth specification for ultra low powered wireless devices. Once the spec is integrated, products like watches, toys, and even healthcare devices (er, pacemakers?) can join your Bluetooth Personal Area Network. You know, after the spec is finalized during the "first half of 2008" which will undoubtedly extend to Q3 of 2008 and then Q... ah hell, you know how it goes.
Wibree, Nokia's new standard, to replace Bluetooth
We all love Bluetooth, given that, among other things, it powers our lovely cordless headsets and nicely syncs our Treos with our laptops. But just as we were snuggling into a long-term relationship with this fantastic short-range technology, Nokia has to come out with a new wireless connectivity standard called Wibree (no, not WiBro). Nokia claims that Wibree maintains a data rate of 1Mbps (not as good as Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, which tops out at 2.1Mbps) at a range of up to 30 feet (yes, Class 1 Bluetooth can go up to 100 meters), operates in the 2.4 GHz band, but says that it's "10 times more energy efficient than Bluetooth," according to Bob Iannucci, head of Nokia Research Center. Nokia also said that it's working with Broadcom, CSR, Epson, Nordic Semicondutor and other companies to further develop the standard so that Wibree products can be released by the second quarter of 2007. It seems like Nokia is gambling pretty hard on this Wibree standard, given that the industry and consumers have invested tons of cash in Bluetooth-friendly products already and will no doubt be reluctant to get a whole new set of Wibree-friendly devices. That said, Reuters reports that "Nokia expects devices currently connected by Bluetooth will get a dual Bluetooth-Wibree chip, while devices that are currently not connected will use a Wibree-only chip." That smells like a huckster's gambit to us -- for all this hoopla about efficient power usage, that extra radio will no doubt draw additional power, which will certainly undermine some of Nokia's claims.Read - Nokia press releaseRead - Reuters
