Bluetooth, once trumpeted
as the ultimate convenience, quickly proved a headache with plenty of pairing
problems and inexplicable connection snafus. Bluetooth 4.0, the newest version
of the technology, is about to change all that.
The bad Bluetooth rep
The bad old days of Bluetooth are behind now, especially with Bluetooth 4.0, AKA Bluetooth Smart Ready, on the edge of mass adoption. Already available in the Motorola Droid Razr and Droid Razr Maxx smartphones plus Apple's iPhone 4S, Bluetooth 4.0 is expected to hit more handsets and all manner of accessories this year.
The bad old days of Bluetooth are behind now, especially with Bluetooth 4.0, AKA Bluetooth Smart Ready, on the edge of mass adoption. Already available in the Motorola Droid Razr and Droid Razr Maxx smartphones plus Apple's iPhone 4S, Bluetooth 4.0 is expected to hit more handsets and all manner of accessories this year.
High-end handsets
such as the Motorola Droid Razr and Droid Razr Maxx include Bluetooth 4.0 as
one of their many cutting-edge capabilities.
Bluetooth's bright future
What the heck is Bluetooth 4.0 and how will it make a difference in ourlives? According to Mike Foley, executive director for the Bluetooth SIG (Special Interest Group), which consists of more than 15,000 companies making or supporting Bluetooth devices, the big improvements added to Bluetooth 3.0 and 4.0 were significant. While the general range of the wireless protocol remains the same (up to 300 feet), version 3.0 enabled a much faster theoretical data throughput of 26Mbps compared with the 2Mbps of version 2.1. That's swift enough to handle data intensive tasks like video streaming.
What the heck is Bluetooth 4.0 and how will it make a difference in ourlives? According to Mike Foley, executive director for the Bluetooth SIG (Special Interest Group), which consists of more than 15,000 companies making or supporting Bluetooth devices, the big improvements added to Bluetooth 3.0 and 4.0 were significant. While the general range of the wireless protocol remains the same (up to 300 feet), version 3.0 enabled a much faster theoretical data throughput of 26Mbps compared with the 2Mbps of version 2.1. That's swift enough to handle data intensive tasks like video streaming.
The real benefit of
Bluetooth 4.0 is energy efficiency. Designed primarily for devices that collect
information frequently, either as much as five times a second or just once
every hour, the standard is optimized for long battery life. In fact users may
see longevity increase by 5 to 10 times depending on individual usage. Mr.
Foley went so far to say that a traditional wireless mouse and keyboard using
the new protocol could conceivably last for five to seven years before needing
a fresh battery--likely outlasting the life of the product.
Fuel for fitness
With performance like this it's plain to see Bluetooth 4.0 making a big impact in the personal fitness and health market. Already there are bushels of gadgets designed to track user's daily activity whether on a treadmill, hike, or in the office. The Fitbit Wireless Trainer, Nike's new Fuelband, Motorola MOTACTV, and stylish Basis Band are great examples.
With performance like this it's plain to see Bluetooth 4.0 making a big impact in the personal fitness and health market. Already there are bushels of gadgets designed to track user's daily activity whether on a treadmill, hike, or in the office. The Fitbit Wireless Trainer, Nike's new Fuelband, Motorola MOTACTV, and stylish Basis Band are great examples.
The Fitness Watch from
BasisScience promises to use Bluetooth to track physical activity and heart
rate.
While the upcoming Basis
Band will use the older Bluetooth 2.1 spec, the Nike FuelBand and Motorola
Motoactv are Bluetooth 4.0 compliant right out of the box and sync fitness data
with smartphones to record workouts in the background. Fitbit also plans to
integrate Bluetooth 4.0 into its products down the road. Its Wireless Trainer
already communicates with a PC-tethered base station to accomplish the same
task.
One-tap hookup
Another convenience newer forms of Bluetooth brings is compatibility with NFC chips. Both Bluetooth versions 3.0 and 4.0 can talk to NFC hardware in phones and laptops to make pairing a simple process of tapping the two devices together. So configuring Wi-Fi settings on mobile gadgets just by resting them on NFC equipped routers or hooking up headsets with tablets and phones in the same manner.
Another convenience newer forms of Bluetooth brings is compatibility with NFC chips. Both Bluetooth versions 3.0 and 4.0 can talk to NFC hardware in phones and laptops to make pairing a simple process of tapping the two devices together. So configuring Wi-Fi settings on mobile gadgets just by resting them on NFC equipped routers or hooking up headsets with tablets and phones in the same manner.
Branding breakdown
One area where Bluetooth 4.0 doesn't sound so simple is branding. Broken out in Bluetooth Smart and Bluetooth Smart Ready, devices with the technology will feature either of these logos. To clarify, Bluetooth Smart Ready products are essentially connected devices that typically have persistent Internet ties and robust power supplies, be it a smart phone, laptop, or router. Bluetooth Smart devices are the data collectors or accessories that link to Smart Ready units to transfer information periodically and strive to preserve battery life in the field. Also important is that Bluetooth Smart Ready devices are backwardly compatible with older hardware, at least on a basic level. Here's a chart to help figure out how everything works.
One area where Bluetooth 4.0 doesn't sound so simple is branding. Broken out in Bluetooth Smart and Bluetooth Smart Ready, devices with the technology will feature either of these logos. To clarify, Bluetooth Smart Ready products are essentially connected devices that typically have persistent Internet ties and robust power supplies, be it a smart phone, laptop, or router. Bluetooth Smart devices are the data collectors or accessories that link to Smart Ready units to transfer information periodically and strive to preserve battery life in the field. Also important is that Bluetooth Smart Ready devices are backwardly compatible with older hardware, at least on a basic level. Here's a chart to help figure out how everything works.
In a nutshell, the current spec for
Bluetooth looks pretty slick. If Bluetooth Smart can really deliver on its
touted performance, the phone accessory market is set to heat up soon, making
last year's buzz word "appcessory" seem a woefully inadequate descriptor.
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